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FROM  -THE-  LIBRARY-  OF' 
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Allan  Quatermain 


BEING 


AN    ACCOUNT    OF    HIS    FURTHER    ADVENTURES    AND    DISCOVER- 
IES  IN   COMPANY  WITH   SIR   HENRY   CURTIS,  BART., 
COMMANDER  JOHN   GOOD,   R.   N.,  AND 
ONE  UMSLOPOGAAS. 


BY 


H.  RIDER  HAGGARD, 

Author  of  "She,''  "King-  Solo7nons  Mines"  etc.^  etc. 


,       ,    .•     »     r      »     . 


»».«.  ^*.  •, 


SEx  ^Iricjr  semper  nliquid  noul* 


CHICAGO  : 

W.  B.  CONKEY  COMPANY. 


f. 


■\ 


\\.    VKJ  ,  \< 


^ 


cv.  e 


I  Inscribe  this  Book  of  AnvKNiuKK 

TO   MV   SON. 

ARTHUR  JOHN  RIDER  HAGGARD, 

IN   THE   HOPK   THAT   IN   DAYS   TO   COMPl 

HE,     ANI>     MANY     OTHER     BOVS     WHOM     I    SHAM.    NEVER     KNOW,     MAY,     IN 

THE   ACTS   AND   THOUGHTS   OF 

ALLAN  QUATERMAIN  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS, 

AS   HEREIK    RECORDED,    KIND    SOMETHING 
TO   HELP   HIM   AND   THEM   TO   REACH   TO    WHAT,    WITH    SiR   HENRY 

Curtis,  I  hold  to  be  the  highest  rank  whereto 

WE   CAN  ATTAIN-  THE   STATE  AND 
DKJNITY   OF 


ENGLISH  (iKN'ILLMKN. 


1887. 


>»293S9 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction 9 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Consul's  Yarn • 14 

CHAPTER  H. 
The  Black  Hand 25 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Mission  Station 33 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Alphonse  and  H  is  Annette 43 

CHAPTER  V. 
Umslopogaas  Makes  a  Promise 51 

CHAPTER  VL 
The  Night  Wears  On 63 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  Slaughter  Grim  and  Great 71 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Alphonse  Explains 81 


vi  Cojitctiis. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAGE 

Into  the  Unknown 90 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Rose  of  Fire 100 

CHAPTER  XL 
The  Frowning  City Ill 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Sister  Queens 123 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
About  the  Zu-Vendi  Peof>le 136 

CHAPTER  XIV, 
The  Flower  Temple 145 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Sorais'  Song 158 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Before  the  Statue 10!) 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Storm  Breaks I'J'S 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
War!  Red  War 188 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
A  Strange  Wedding -0^ 


CoJitents.  vii 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Battle  of  the  Pass 

CHAPTER  XXL 


Away!  Away  I. 


PAGE 

.  208 


220 


CHAPTER  XXn. 
How  Umslopogaas  Held  the  Stair 2Lc 

CHAPTER  XXni. 
I  Have  Spoken *^^ 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
By  Another  Hand 246 

Note  by  George  Curtis,  Esq '"^•^ 

Author's  Acknowledgments = ^^ 


•  ,  »    <J         »    »  • 

>     >   J  J    »      5 


ALLAN    QUATERMAIN. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Decembex  aj. 

J  ■  I  HAVE  just  buried  my  boy,  my  poor  handsome  boy  of  whom 
-<  I  was  so  proud,  and  my  heart  is  broken.  It  is  very  hard  hav- 
'  ing  only  one  son  to  lose  him  thus,  but  God's  will  be  done.  Who 
am  I  that  I  should  complain  ?  The  great  wheel  of  Fate  rolls 
on  like  a  Juggernaut,  and  crushes  us  all  in  turn,  some  soon, 
some  late — it  does  not  matter  when,  in  the  end  it  crushes  us  all. 
We  do  not  prostrate  ourselves  before  it  like  the  poor  Indians  ; 
we  fly  hither  and  thither — we  cry  for  mercy ;  but  it  is  of  no  use, 
the  blind  black  Fate  thunders  on  and  in  its  season  reduces  us 
to  powder. 

•  Poor  Harry  to  go  so  soon  !  just  when  his  life  was  opening 
to  him.  He  was  doing  so  well  at  the  hospital,  he  had  passed 
his  last  examination  with  honours,  and  I  was  proud  of  them, 
much  prouder  than  he  was,  I  think.  And  then  he  must  needs 
go  to  that  small-pox  hospital  He  wrote  to  me  that  he  was  not 
afraid  of  small-pox  and  wanted  to  gain  the  experience  ;  and  now 
the  disease  has  killed  him,  and  I,  old  and  grey  and  withered, 
am  left  to  mourn  over  him,  without  a  chick  or  child  to  comfort 
me.  I  might  have  saved  him,  too — I  have  money  enough  for 
both  of  us,  and  much  more  than  enough — King  Solomon's 
Mines  provided  me  with  that ;  but  I  said,  "  No,  let  the  boy 
earn  his  living,  let  him  labour  that  he  may  enjoy  rest"  But 
the  rest  has  come  to  him  before  the  labour.  Oh,  my  boy,  my 
boy  ! 

'  I  am  hke  the  man  in  the  Bible  who  laid  up  much  goods  and 
builded  barns — goods  for  my  boy  and  barns  for  him  to  store 
them  in  ;  and  now  his  soul  has  been  required  of  him,  and  I  am 
left  desolate.  I  would  that  it  had  been  my  soul  and  not  my 
boy's ! 

'  We  buried  him  this  afternoon  under  the  shadow  of  the  grey 
Rod  ancient  tower  of  the  church  of  this  village  where  my  house 


J 


10    .  Allan  Quutermain, 

is.  It  was  a  dreary  December  afternoon,  and  the  sky  was  heavy 
with  snow,  but  not  much  was  falling.  The  coffin  was  put  dowu 
by  the  graye,  and  a  few  big  flakes  lit  upon  it.  They  looked 
very  white  upon  the  black  cloth  !  There  was  a  little  hitch 
about  getting  the  coffin  down  into  the  grave — the  necessary 
ropes  had  been  forgotten  :  so  we  drew  back  from  it,  and  waited 
in  silence  watching  the  big  flakes  fall  gently  one  by  one  like 
heavenly  benedictions,  and  melt  in  tears  on  Harry's  pall.  But 
that  was  not  all.  A  robin  redbreast  came  as  bold  as  could  be 
and  lit  upon  the  coffin  and  began  to  sing.  And  then  I  am 
afraid  that  I  broke  down,  and  so  did  Sir  Henry  Curtis,  strong 
man  though  he  is  ;  and  as  for  Captain  Good,  I  saw  him  turn 
away  too ;  even  in  my  own  distress  I  could  not  help  noticing 
it' 

The  above,  signed  '  Allan  Quatermain,'  is  an  extract  from  my 
diary  written  two  years  and  more  ago.  I  copy  it  down  here  be- 
cause it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  fittest  beginning  to  the  history 
that  I  am  about  to  write,  if  it  please  God  to  spare  me  to  finish 
it.  If  not,  well  it  does  not  matter.  That  extract  was  penned 
seven  thousand  miles  or  so  from  the  spot  where  I  now  lie 
painfully  and  slowly  writing  this,  with  a  pretty  girl  standing  by 
my  side  fanning  the  flies  from  my  august  countenance.  Harry 
is  there  and  I  am  here,  and  yet  somehow  I  cannot  help  feeling 
that  I  am  not  far  off  Harry. 

When  I  was  in  England  I  used  to  live  in  a  very  fine  house 
— at  least  I  call  it  a  fine  house,  speaking  comparatively,  and 
judging  from  the  standard  of  the  houses  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  all  my  life  in  Africa — not  five  hundred  yards  from 
the  old  church  where  Harry  is  asleep,  and  thither  I  went 
j  after  the  funeral  and  ate  some  food  ;  for  it  is  no  good  starving 
v.^ven  if  one  has  just  buried  all  one's  earthly  hopes.  But  I  could 
not  eat  much,  and  soon  I  took  to  walking,  or  rather  limping — 
being  permanently  lame  from  the  bite  of  a  lion— ^up  and  down, 
up  and  down  the  oak-panelled  vestibule  ;  for  there  is  a  vestibule 
in  my  house  in  England.  On  all  the  four  walls  of  this  vestibule 
were  placed  pairs  of  horns— about  a  hundred  piirs  altogether, 
all  of  which  I  had  shot  myself  They  are  beautiful  specimens 
as  I  never  keep  any  horns  which  are  not  in  every  way  perfect, 
unless  it  may  be  now  and  a^ain  on  account  of  the  associations 
connected  with  them.  In  the  centre  of  the  room,  however,  over 
the  wide  fireplace,  there  was  a  clear  space  left  on  which  I  had 


Introduction.  Il 

fixed  up  all  my  rifles.  •  Some  of  them  I  have  had  for  forty  years, 
old  muzzle-loaders  that  nobody  would  look  at  nowadays.  One 
was  an  elephant  gun  with  strips  of  rimpi,  or  green  hide  lashed 
round  the  stocks  and  locks,  such  as  used  to  be  owned  by  the 
Dutchmen — a  *  roer  '  they  call  it.  That  gun  the  Boer  I  bought 
it  from  many  years  ago  told  me  had  been  used  by  his  father  at 
the  battle  of  the  Blood  River,  just  after  Dingaan  swept  into 
Natal  an^  slaughtered  six  hundred  men,  women  and  children, 
so  that  the  Boers  named  the  place  where  they  died  '  Weenen,' 
or  the  '  Place  of  Weeping ' ;  and  so  it  is  called  to  this  day,  and 
always  will  be  called.  And  many  an  elephant  have  I  shot  with 
that  old  gun.  She  always  took  a  handful  of  black  powder  and 
a  three-ounce  ball,  and  kicked  like  the  very  deuce. 

Well,  up  and  down  I  walked,  staring  at  the  guns  and  the 
horns  which  the  guns  had  brought  low ;  and  as  I  did  so  there 
rose  up  in  me  a  great  craving  : — I  would  go  away  from  this 
place  where  I  lived  idly  and  at  ease,  back  again  to  the  wild 
land  where  I  had  spent  my  life,  where  I  met  my  dear  wife  and 
poor  Harry  was  born,  and  so  many  things,  good,  bad,  and  in- 
different had  happened  to  me.  The  thirst  for  the  wilderness 
was  on  me  ;  I  could  tolerate  this  place  no  more  ;  I  would  go  and 
die  as  I  had  lived,  among  the  wild  game  and  the  savages.  Yes, 
as  I  walked,  I  began  to  long  to  see  the  moonlight  gleaming 
silvery  white  over  the  wide  veldt  and  mysterious  sea  of  bush, 
and  watch  the  lines  of  game  travelling  down  the  ridges  to  the 
water.  The  ruling  passion  is  strong  in  death,  they  say,  and  my 
heart  was  dead  that  night.  But,  independently  of  my  trouble, 
no  man  who  has  for  forty  years  lived  the  life  I  have,  can  with 
impunity  go  coop  himself  in  this  prim  English  country,  with  its 
trim  hedgerows  and  cultivated  fields,  its  stiff  formal  manners, 
and  its  well-dressed  crowds.  He  begins  to  long — ah,  how  he 
longs  ! — for  the  keen  breath  of  the  desert  air  ;  he  dreams  of  the 
sight  of  the  Zulu  impis  breaking  on  their  foes  like  surf  upon 
the  rocks,  and  his  heart  rises  up  in  rebellion  against  the  strict 
limits  of  the  civilized  life. 

Ah  !  this  civilization,  what  does  it  all  come  to  ?  For  forty 
years  and  more  I  lived  among  savages,  and  studied  them  and 
their  ways ;  and  now  for  several  years  I  have  lived  here  in  Eng- 
land, and  have,  in  my  own  stupid  manner,  done  my  best  to 
learn  the  ways  of  the  children  of  light ;  and  what  have  I  found  ? 
A  great  gulf  fixed  ?  No,  only  a  very  little  one,  that  a  plain 
^  man's  thought  may  spring  across,     I  say  that  as  the  savage  is. 


12  Allan  Quatennain. 

so  is  the  white  man,  only  the  latter  is  more  inventive,  and  pos- 
sesses the  faculty  of  combination  ;  save  and  except  also  that  the 
savage,  as  I  have  known  him,  is  to  a  large  extent  free  from  the 
greed  of  money,  which  eats  like  a  cancer  into  the  heart  of  the 
white  man.  It  is  a  depressing  conclusion,  but  in  all  essentials 
the  savage  and  the  child  of  civilisation  are  identical.  I  dare 
say  that  the  highly  civilised  lady  reading  this  will  smile  at  an 
old  fool  of  a  hunter's  simplicity  when  she  thinks  of  her  black 
bead-bedecked  sister  ;  and  so  will  the  superfine  cultured  idler 
scientifically  eating  a  dinner  at  his  club,  the  cost  of  which 
would  keep  a  starving  family  for  a  week.  And  yet,  my  dear 
young  lady,  what  are  those  pretty  things  round  your  own  neck  ? 
— they  have  a  strong  family  resemblance,  especially  when  you 
wear  that  very  low  dress,  to  the  savage  woman's  beads.  Your 
habit  of  turning  round  and  round  to  the  sound  of  horns  and 
tom-toms,  your  fondness  for  pigments  and  powders,  the  way  in 
which  you  love  to  subjugate  yourself  to  the  rich  warrior  who 
has  captured  you  in  marriage,  and  the  quickness  with  which 
your  taste  in  feathered  head-dresses  varies, — all  these  things 
suggest  touches  of  kinship ;  and  remember  that  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  your  nature  you  are  quite  identical.  As 
for  you,  sir,  who  also  laugh,  let  some, man  come  and  strike  you 
in  the  face  whilst  you  are  enjoying  that  marvellous-looking  dish, 
and  we  shall  soon  see  how  much  of  the  savage  there  is  in  you. 
There,  I  might  go  on  for  ever,  but  what  is  the  good  ?  Civi- 
lisation is  only  savagery  silver-gilt.  A  vain  glory  is  it,  and,  hke 
a  northern  light,  comes  but  to  fade  and  leave  the  sky  more 
dark.  Out  of  the  soil  of  barbarism  it  has  grown  Hke  a  tree,  and, 
as  I  believe,  into  the  soil  like  a  tree  it  will  once  more,  sooner 
or  later,  fall  again,  as  the  Egyptian  civilisation  fell,  as  the  Hel- 
lenic civilisation  fell,  and  as  the  Roman  civilisation  and  many 
others  of  which  the  world  has  now  lost  count,  fell  also.  Do 
not  let  me,  however,  be  understood  as  decrying  our  modern  in- 
stitutions, representing  as  they  do  the  gathered  experience  ©f 
humanity  applied  for  the  good  of  all.  Of  course  they  have 
great  advantages — hospitals  for  instance  ;  but  then,  remember, 
we  breed  the  sickly  people  who  fill  them.  In  a  savage  land 
they  do  not  exist.  Besides,  the  question  will  arise :  How  many 
of  these  blessings  are  due  to  Christianity  as  distinct  from  civili- 
sation ?  And  so  the  balance  sways  and  the  story  runs — here  a 
gain,  there  a  loss,  and  Nature's  great  average  struck  across  the 
two,  whereof  the  sum  total  forms  one  of  the  factors  in  that 


Introduction.  1 3 

mighty  equation  in  which  the  result  will  equal  the  unknown 
quantity  of  her  purpose. 

I  make  no  apology  for  this  digression,  especially  as  this  is  an 
introduction  which  all  young  people  and  those  who  never  like 
to  think  (and  it  is  a  bad  habit)  will  naturally  skip.  It  seems  to 
me  very  desirable  that  we  should  sometimes  try  to  understand 
the  limitations  of  our  nature,  so  that  we  may  not  be  carried 
away  by  the  pride  of  knowledge.  Man's  cleverness  is  almost 
infinite,  and  stretches  like  an  elastic  band,  but  human  nature  is 
hke  an  iron  ring.  You  can  go  round  and  round  it,  you  can 
polish  It  highly,  you  can  even  flatten  it  a  little  on  one  side, 
whereby  you  will  make  it  bulge  out  on  the  other,  but  you 
will  never^  while  the  world  endures  and  man  is  man,  increase 
its  total  circumference.  It  is  the  one  fixed,  unchangeable  thing 
— fixed  as  the  stars,  more  enduring  than  the  mountains,  as  un- 
alterable as  the  way  of  the  Eternal.  Human  nature  is  God's 
kaleidoscope,  and  the  little  bits  of  coloured  glass  which  repre- 
sent our  passions,  hopes,  fears,  joys,  aspirations  towards  good 
and  evil  and  what  not  are  turned  in  His  mighty  hand  as  surely 
and  as  certainly  as  it  turns  the  stars,  and  continually  fall  into 
new  patterns  and  combinations.  But  the  composing  elements 
remain  the  same,  nor  will  there  be  one  more  bit  of  coloured 
glass  nor  one  less  for  ever  and  ever. 

This  being  so,  supposing  for  the  sake  of  argument  we  divide 
ourselves  into  twenty  parts,  nineteen  savage  and  one  civilised, 
we  must  look  to  the  nineteen  savage  portions  of  our  nature  if 
we  would  really  understand  ourselves,  and  not  to  the  twentieth, 
which,  though  so  insignificant  in  reality,  is  spread  all  over  the 
other  nineteen,  making  them  appear  quite  different  from  what 
they  really  are,  as  the  blacking  does  a  boot,  or  the  veneer  a 
table.  It  is  on  the  nineteen  rough  serviceable  savage  portions 
that  we  fall  back  in  emergencies,  not  on  the  polished  but  unsub- 
stantial twentieth.  Civilisation  should  wipe  away  our  tears,  and 
yet  we  weep  and  cannot  be  comforted.  Warfare  is  abhorrent 
to  her,  and  yet  wx  strike  out  for  hearth  and  home,  for  honour 
and  fair  fame,  and  can  glory  in  the  blow.  And  so  on,  through 
everything. 

So,  when  the  heart  is  stricken,  and  the  head  is  humbled  in 
the  dust,  civilisation  fails  us  utterly.  Back,  back,  we  creep,  and 
lay  us  like  httle  children  on  the  great  breast  of  Nature,  that  she, 
perchance,  may  soothe  us  and  make  us  forget,  or  at  least  nd 
remembrance  of  its  sting.     Who  has  not  in  his  great  gnef  felt 


14  Allan  Quaterniain, 

a  longing  to  look  upon  the  outward  features  of  the  universal 
Mother  ;  to  he  on  the  mountains  and  watch  the  clouds  drive 
across  the  sky  and  hear  the  rollers  break  in  thunder  on  the 
shore,  to  let  his  poor  struggling  life  mingle  for  a  while  in  her 
Hfe ;  to  feel  the  slow  beat  of  her  eternal  heart,  and  to  forget  his 
woes,  and  let  his  identity  be  swallowed  in  the  vast,  impercep- 
tibly moving  energy  of  her  of  whom  we  are,  from  whom  we 
came,  and  with  whom  we  shall  again  be  mingled,  who  gave  us 
birth,  and  will  in  a  day  to  come  give  us  our  burial  also  ? 

And  so  in  my  great  grief,  as  I  walked  up  and  down  the  oak- 
panelled  vestibule  of  my  house  there  in  Yorkshire,  I  longed 
once  more  to  throw  myself  into  the  arms  of  Nature.  Not  the 
Nature  which  you  know,  the  Nature  that  waves  in  well-kept 
woods  and  smiles  out  in  corn-fields,  but  Nature  as  she  was 
in  the  age  when  creation  was  complete,  undefiled  as  yet  by  any 
human  sinks  of  sweltering  humanity.  I  would  go  again  where 
the  wild  game  was,  back  to  the  land  whereof  none  know  the 
history,  back  to  the  savages,  whom  I  love,  although  some  of 
them  are  almost  as  merciless  as  Political  Economy.  There, 
perhaps,  I  shall  be  able  to  learn  'o  think  of  poor  Harry  lymg  in 
the  churchyard,  without  feeling  as  though  my  heart  would  break 
in  two. 

And  now  there  is  an  end  of  this  egotistical  talk,  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  of  it.  But  if  you  whose  eyes  may  perchance 
one  day  fall  upon  my  written  thoughts  have  got  so  far  as  this,  I 
ask  you  to  persevere,  since  what  I  have  to  tell  you  is  not  with- 
out its  interest,  and  it  has  never  been  told  before,  nor  will  again. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   consul's   yarn. 


A  WEEK  had  passed  since  the  funeral  of  my  poor  boy  Harry, 
and  one  evening  I  was  in  my  room  walking  up  and  down  and 
thinking,  when  there  was  a  ring  at  the  outer  door.  Going 
down  the  steps  I  opened  it  myself,  and  in  came  my  old  friends 
Sir  Henry  Curtis  and  Captain  John  Good,  R.N.     They  entered 


The  Consuls  Yarn.  15 

the  vestibule  and  sat  themselves  down  before  the  wide  hearth, 
where,  I  remember,  a  particularly  good  fire  of  logs  was  burning. 

*  It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  come  round,'  I  said  by  way  of 
making  a  remark ;  *  it  must  have  been  heavy  walking  in  the 
snow.' 

They  said  nothing,  but  Sir  Henry  slowly  filled  his  pipe  and 
lit  it  with  a  burning  ember.  As  he  leant  forward  to  do  so  the 
fire  got  hold  of  a  gassy  bit  of  pine  and  flared  up  brightly,  throwing 
the  whole  scene  into  strong  relief,  and  I  thought  what  a  splendid- 
looking  man  he  is.  Calm,  powerful  face,  clear-cut  features, 
large  grey  eyes,  yellow  beard  and  hair — altogether  a  magnificent 
specimen  of  the  higher  type  of  humanity.  Nor  did  his  form 
beUe  his  face.  I  have  never  seen  wider  shoulders  or  a  deeper 
chest.  Indeed,  Sir  Henry's  girth  is  so  great  that,  though  he  is 
six  foot  two  high,  he  does  not  strike  one  as  a  tall  man.  As  I 
looked  at  him  I  could  not  help  thinking  what  a  curious  contrast 
my  little  dried-up  self  presented  to  his  grand  face  and  form. 
Imagine  to  yourself  a  small  withered,  yellow-faced  man  of  sixty- 
three,  with  thin  hands,  large  brown  eyes,  a  head  of  grizzled  hair 
cut  short  and  standing  up  like  a  half-worn  scrubbing-brush — 
total  weight  in  my  clothes,  nine  stone  six — and  you  will  get  a 
very  fair  idea  of  Allan  Quatermain,  commonly  called  Hunter 
Quatermain,  or  by  the  natives  '  Macumazahn  ' — anglice,  he  who 
keeps  a  bright  look-out  at  night,  or,  in  vulgar  English,  a  sharp 
fellow  who  is  not  to  be  taken  in. 

Then  there  was  Good,  who  is  not  like  either  of  us,  being 
short,  dark,  stout — very  stout — with  twinkling  black  eyes,  in 
one  of  which  an  eyeglass  is  everlastingly  fixed.  I  say  stout, 
but  it  is  a  mild  term ;  I  regret  to  state  that  of  late  years  Good 
has  been  running  to  stomach  in  a  most  disgraceful  way.  Sir 
Henry  tells  him  that  it  comes  from  idleness  and  over-feeding, 
and  Good  does  not  like  it  at  all,  though  he  cannot  deny  it. 

We  sat  for  a  while,  and  then  I  got  a  match  and  lit  the  lamp 
that  stood  ready  on  the  table,  for  the  half-light  began  to  grow 
dreary,  as  it  is  apt  to  do  when  one  has  just  one  short  week  ago 
buried  the  hope  of  one's  life.  Next,  I  opened  a  cupboard  in 
the  wainscoting  and  got  a  bottle  of  whisky  and  some  tumblers 
and  water.  I  always  like  to  do  these  things  for  myself :  it  is 
irritating  to  me  to  have  somebody  continually  at  my  elbow,  as 
though  I  were  an  eighteen-month-old  baby.  All  this  while 
Curtis  and  Good  had  been  silent,  feeling,  I  suppose,  that  they 
had  nothing  to  say  that  could  do  me  any  good,  and  content  to 


l6  Allan  Quatermain, 

give  me  the  comfort  of  their  presence  and  silent  sympathy  ;  for 
it  was  only  their  second  visit  since  the  funeral.  And  it  is,  by 
the  way,  from  the  fact  of  the  presence  of  others  that  we  really 
derive  support  in  our  dark  hours  of  grief,  and  not  from  their 
talk,  which  often  only  serves  to  irritate  us.  Before  a  bad  storm 
the  game  always  herd  together,  but  they  cease  their  calling. 

They  sat  and  smoked  and  drank  whisky  and  water,  and  I 
stood  by  the  fire  also  smoking  and  looking  at  them. 

At  last  I  spoke.  '  Old  friends,'  I  said,  '  how  long  is  it  since 
we  got  back  from  Kukuanaland  ?  ' 

'  Three  years,'  said  Good.      '  Why  do  you  ask  ? ' 

'  I  ask  because  I  think  that  I  have  had  a  long  enough  spell 
of  civilisation.     I  am  going  back  to  the  veldt.' 

Sir  Henry  laid  his  head  back  in  his  arm-chair  and  laughed  one 
of  his  deep  laughs.     '  How  very  odd,'  he  said,  '  eh.  Good  ?  ' 

Good  beamed  at  me  mysteriously  through  his  eyeglass  and 
murmured,  *  Yes,  odd — ver}'  odd.' 

*  I  don't  quite  understand,'  said  I,  looking  from  one  to  the 
other,  for  I  dislike  mysteries. 

'  Don't  you,  old  fellow  ? '  said  Sir  Henry ;  '  then  I  will  explain. 
As  Good  and  I  were  walking  up  here  we  had  a  talk.' 

'  If  Good  was  there  you  probably  did,'  I  put  in  sarcastically, 
for  Good  is  a  great  hand  at  talking.  '  And  what  may  it  have 
been  about  ? ' 

'  What  do  you  think  ? '  asked  Sir  Henry. 

I  shook  my  head.  It  was  not  likely  that  I  should  know  what 
Good  might  be  talking  about.     He  talks  about  so  many  things. 

*  Well,  it  was  about  a  little  plan  that  I  have  formed — namely, 
that  if  you  were  agreeable  we  should  pack  up  our  traps  and  go 
off  to  Africa  on  another  expedition.' 

I  fairly  jumped  at  his  words.     *  You  don't  say  so  ! '  I  said. 

*  Yes  I  do,  though,  and  so  does  Good ;  don't  you.  Good  ? ' 
'  Rather,'  said  that  gentleman. 

'  Listen,  old  fellow,*  went  on  Sir  Henry,  with  considerable 
animation  of  manner.  *  I'm  tired  of  it,  too,  dead-tired  of  doing 
nothing  except  play  the  squire  in  a  countr}'  that  is  sick  of  squires. 
For  a  year  or  more  I  have  been  getting  as  restless  as  an  old  ele- 
phant who  scents  danger.  I  am  always  dreaming  of  Kukuana- 
land and  Gagool  and  King  Solomon's  Mines.  I  can  assure  you 
I  have  become  the  victim  of  an  almost  unaccountable  craving. 
I  am  sick  of  shooting  pheasants  and  partridges,  and  want  to 
have  a  go  at  some  large  game  again.     There,  you  know  the 


Tht  ConsuPs  Yarn,  i^ 

feeling — when  one  has  once  tasted  brandy  and  water,  milk  be- 
comes insipid  to  the  palate.  That  year  we  spent  together  up 
in  Kukuanaland  seems  to  me  worth  all  the  other  years  of  my 
life  put  together.  I  dare  say  that  I  am  a  fool  for  my  pains,  but 
I  can't  help  it ;  I  long  to  go,  and,  what  is  more,  I  mean  to  go.' 
He  paused,  and  then  went  on  again.  '  And,  after  all,  why 
should  I  not  go  ?  I  have  no  wife  or  parent,  no  chick  or  child 
to  keep  me.  If  anything  happens  to  me  the  baronetcy  will  go 
to  my  brother  George  and  his  boy,  as  it  would  ultimately  do  in 
any  case.     I  am  of  no  importance  to  any  one.' 

'  Ah  ! '  I  said,  '  I  thought  you  would  come  to  that  sooner  or 
later.  And  now.  Good,  what  is  your  reason  for  wanting  to  trek  ; 
have  you  got  one  ?  ' 

'  I  have,'  said  Good,  solemnly.  *  I  never  do  anything  with- 
out a  reason;  and  it  isn't  a  lady — at  least,  if  it  is,  it's  several.' 

I  looked  at  him  again.  Good  is  so  overpoweringly  frivolous, 
'  What  is  it  ?  '   I  said 

'  WeU,  if  you  really  want  to  know,  though  I'd  rather  not  speak 
of  a  dehcate  and  strictly  personal  matter,  I'll  tell  you  :  I'm  get- 
ting too  fat' 

'  Shut  up.  Good  ! '  said  Sir  Henry.  '  And  now,  Quatermain, 
lell  us,  where  do  you  propose  going  to  ? ' 

I  Ht  my  pipe,  which  had  gone  out,  before  answering. 

*  Have  you  people  ever  heard  of  ML  Kenia  ?  '  I  asked 

*  Don't  know  the  place,'  said  Good 

*  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  Island  of  Lamu  ? '  I  asked  again, 

*  No.  Stop,  though — isn't  it  a  place  about  300  miles  north 
of  Zanzibar  ? ' 

*  Yes.  Now  listen.  What  I  have  to  propose  is  this.  That 
we  go  to  Lamu  and  thence  make  our  way  about  250  miles  in 
land  to  Mt.  Kenia ;  from  Mt  Kenia  on  inland  to  Mt  Lekaki- 
sera,  another  200  miles,  or  thereabouts,  beyond  which  no  white 
man  has  to  the  best  of  my  belief  ever  been ;  and  then,  if  we 
get  so  far,  right  on  into  the  unknown  mterior.  What  do  you 
say  to  that,  my  hearties  ? ' 

*  It's  a  big  order,'  said  Sir  Henry,  reflectively. 

'  You  are  right,'  I  answered.  *  It  is  j  but  I  take  it  that  we  are 
all  three  of  us  in  search  of  a  big  order.  We  want  a  change  of 
scene,  and  we  are  Hkely  to  get  one — a  thorough  change.  All 
my  life  I  have  longed  to  visit  those  parts,  and  I  mean  to  do  it 
before  I  die.  My  poor  boys  death  has  broken  the  last  link  be- 
tween me  and  civilisation,  and  I'm  oflf  to  ray  native  wiids. 

l2j 


1 8  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

And  now  I'll  tell  you  another  thing,  and  that  is,  that  for  years 
and  years  I  have  heard  rumours  of  a  great  white  race  which  is 

supposed  to  have  its  home  somewhere  up  in  this  direction,  and 
I  have  a  mind  to  see  \i  there  is  any  truth  in  them.  If  you  fel- 
lows hke  to  come,  well  and  good ;  if  not,  I'll  go  alone.' 

•  I'm  your  man,  though  I  don't  believe  in  your  white  race,' 
said  Sir   Henry  Curtis,  rising  and  placing  his  arm  upon  my 

houlder. 

'  Ditto,'  remarked  Good  ;  *  I'll  go  into  training  at  once.  By 
all  means  let's  go  to  Mt.  Kenia  and  the  other  place  with  an  un- 
pronounceable name,  and  look  for  a  white  race  that  does  not 
exist.     It's  all  one  to  me.' 

'  When  do  you  propose  to  start  ?  '  asked  Sir  Henry. 

*  This  day  month,'  I  answered,  *  by  the  British  India  steam- 
boat ;  and  don't  you  be  so  certain  that  things  don't  exist  because 
you  do  not  happen  to  have  heard  of  them.  Remember  King 
Solomon's  Mines.' 

Some  fourteen  weeks  or  so  had  passed  since  the  date  of  this 
conversation,  and  this  history  goes  on  its  way  in  very  different 
surroundings. 

After  much  deliberation  and  enquiry  we  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  our  best  starting-point  for  Mt.  Kenia  would  be  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tana  River,  and  not 
from  Mombasa,  a  place  over  loo  miles  nearer  Zanzibar.  This 
conclusion  we  arrived  at  from  information  given  to  us  by  a 
German  trader  whom  we  met  upon  the  steamer  at  Aden.  I 
think  that  he  was  the  dirtiest  German  I  ever  knew ;  but  he  was 
a  good  fellow,  and  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  valuable  infomation. 
•  Lamu,'  said  he,  *  you  goes  to  Lamu — oh,  ze  beautiful  place  1 ' 
and  he  turned  up  his  fat  face  and  beamed  with  mild  rapture. 
'  One  year  and  a  half  I  live  there  and  never  change  my  shirt 
— never  at  all.' 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  on  arriving  at  the  island  we  dis- 
embarked with  all  our  goods  and  chattels,  and,  not  knowing 
where  to  go,  marched  boldly  up  to  the  house  of  Her  Majesty's 
Consul,  where  we  were  most  hospitably  received. 

Lamu  is  a  very  curious  place,  but  the  things  which  stand 
out  most  clearly  in  my  memory  in  connection  with  it  are  its 
exceeding  dirtiness  and  its  smells.  These  last  are  simply  awful. 
Just  below  the  Consulate  is  the  beach,  or  rather  a  mud  bank 
that  is  called  a  beach.     It  is  left  quite  bare  at  low  tide,  and 


The  ConsuVs  Yarn,  19 

serves  as  a  repository  for  all  the  filth,  offal,  and  refuse  of  the 
town.  Here  it  is,  too,  that  the  women  come  to  bury  cocoanuts 
in  the  mud,  leaving  them  there  until  the  outer  husk  is  quite  rot- 
ten, when  they  dig  them  up  again  and  use  the  fibres  to  make 
mats  with,  and  for  various  other  purposes.  As  this  process  has 
been  going  on  for  generations,  the  condition  of  the  beach  can 
be  better  imagined  than  described.  I  have  smelt  many  evil 
odours  in  the  course  of  my  life,  but  the  concentrated  essence 
of  stench  which  arose  from  that  beach  at  Lamu  as  we  sat  in  the 
moonlight  night — not  under,  but  on  our  friend  the  Consul's 
hospitable  roof — and  sniffed  it,  makes  the  remembrance  of  them 
very  poor  and  faint.  No  wonder  people  get  fever  at  Lamu. 
And  yet  the  place  was  not  -vs-ithout  a  certain  quaintness  and 
charm  of  its  own,  though  possibly — indeed  probably — it  was 
one  which  would  quickly  pall. 

*  Well,  where  are  you  gentlemen  steering  for  ? '  asked  our 
friend  the  hospitable  Consul,  as  we  smoked  our  pipes  after  din- 
ner. 

*  We  propose  to  go  to  Mt.  Kenia  and  then  on  to  Mt.  Leka- 
kisera,'  answered  Sir  Henry.  '  Quatermain  has  got  hold  of 
some  yarn  about  there  being  a  white  race  up  in  the  unknown 
territories  beyond.' 

The  Consul  looked  interested,  and  answered  that  he  had 
heard  something  of  that,  too. 

*  What  have  you  heard  ? '  I  asked. 

*  Oh,  not  much.  All  I  know  about  it  is  that  about  a  year  or 
so  ago  I  got  a  letter  from  Mackenzie,  the  Scotch  missionary, 
whose  station,  "  The  Highlands,"  is  placed  at  the  highest  navi- 
gable point  of  the  Tana  river,  in  which  he  said  something 
about  it.* 

'  Have  you  the  letter  ? '  I  asked. 

'  No,  I  destroyed  it ;  but  I  remember  that  he  said  that  a  man 
had  arrived  at  his  station  who  declared  that  two  months'  jour- 
ney beyond  Mt.  Lekakisera,  which  no  white  man  has  yet  visited 
— at  least,  so  far  as  I  know — he  found  a  lake  called  Laga,  and  that 
then  he  went  off  to  the  north-east,  a  month's  journey,  over  desert 
and  thorn  veldt  and  great  mountains,  till  he  came  to  a  country 
where  the  people  are  white  and  live  in  stone  houses.  Here  he 
was  hospitably  entertained  for  a  while,  till  at  last  the  priests  of 
the  country  set  it  about  that  he  was  a  devil,  and  the  people 
drove  him  away,  and  he  journeyed  for  eight  months  and  reached 
Mackenzie's  place,  as  I  heard,  dying.     That's  all  I  know ;  and 


20  Allan  Quatermain. 

if  you  ask  me,  I  believe  that  it  is  a  lie  ;  but  if  you  want  to  find 
out  more  about  it,  you  had  better  go  up  the  Tana  to  Macken- 
zie's place  and  ask  him  for  information.' 

Sir  Henry  and  I  looked  at  each  other.  Here  was  something 
tangible. 

'  I  think  that  we  will  go  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's,'  I  said. 

*  Well,'  answered  the  Consul,  *  that  is  your  best  way,  but  I 
warn  you  that  you  are  likely  to  have  a  rough  journey,  for  I  hear 
that  the  Masai  are  about,  and,  as  you  know,  they  are  not  plea- 
sant customers.  Your  best  plan  will  be  to  choose  a  few  picked 
men  for  personal  servants  and  hunters,  and  to  hire  bearers  from 
village  to  village.  It  will  give  you  an  infinity  of  trouble,  but 
perhaps  on  the  whole  it  will  prove  a  cheaper  and  more  advan- 
tageous course  than  engaging  a  caravan,  and  you  will  be  less 
liabl''  to  desertion.* 

Fortunately  there  were  at  Lamu  at  this  time  a  party  of  Wak- 
wafi  Askari  (soldiers).  The  ^Vakwafi,  who  are  a  cross  between 
the  Masai  and  the  Wataveta,  are  a  fine  manly  race,  possessing 
many  of  the  good  qualities  of  the  Zulu,  and  a  greater  capacity 
for  civilization.  They  are  also  great  hunters.  As  it  happened, 
these  particular  men  had  recently  been  a  long  trip  with  an  Eng- 
lishman named  Jutson,  who  had  started  from  Mombasa,  a  port 
150  miles  below  Lamu,  and  journeyed  right  round  Kilimanjairo, 
one  of  the  highest  known  mountains  in  Africa.  Poor  fellow, 
he  had  died  of  fever  when  on  his  return  journey,  and  within  a 
day's  march  of  Mombasa.  It  does  seem  hard  that  he  should 
have  gone  off  thus  when  within  a  few  hours  of  safety,  and  after 
having  survived  so  many  perils,  but  so  it  was.  His  hunters 
buried  him,  and  then  came  on  to  Lamu  in  a  dhow.  Our  friend 
the  Consul  suggested  to  us  that  we  had  better  try  and  hire  these 
men,  and  accordingly  on  the  folio  wins;  morning  we  started  to 
interview  the  party,  accompanied  by  a  .  interpreter. 

In  due  course  we  found  them  in  a  mud  hut  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  town.  Three  of  the  men  were  sitting  outside  the  hut, 
and  fine  frank-looking  fellows  they  weie,  having  a  more  or  less 
civilised  appearance.  To  them  we  cautiously  opened  the  object 
of  our  visit,  at  first  with  very  scant  success.  They  declared  that 
they  could  not  entertain  any  such  idea,  that  they  were  worn  and 
weary  with  long  travelling,  and  that  their  hearts  were  sore  at  the 
'oss  of  their  master.  They  meant  to  go  back  to  their  homes 
and  rest  awhile.  This  did  not  sound  very  promising,  so  by  way 
of  effecting  a  diversion  I  asked  where  the  remainder  of  them 


The  Consii.rs  Yarn,  21 

were.  I  was  told  there  were  six,  and  I  saw  but  three.  One  of 
the  men  said  that  they  slept  in  the  hut,  and  were  yet  resting 
after  their  labors — 'sleep  weighed  down  their  eyelids,  and  sorrow 
made  their  hearts  as  lead:  it  was  best  to  sleep,  for  with  sleep 
came  forgetfulness.     But  the  men  should  be  awakened.' 

Presently  they  came  out  of  the  hut,  yawning — the  first  two  men 
being  evidently  of  the  same  race  and  style  as  those  already  be- 
fore us;  but  the  appearance  of  the  third  and  last  nearly  made  me 
jump  out  of  my  skin.  He  was  a  very  tall,  broad  man,  quite  six 
foot  three,  I  should  say,  but  gaunt,  with  lean  wiiy-looking  limbs. 
My  first  glance  at  him  told  me  that  he  was  no  Wakwafi^:  he  was  a 
pure  bred  Zulu.  He  came  out  with  his  thin  aristocratic -looking 
hand  placed  before  his  face  to  Hide  a  yawn,  so  I  could  only  see 
that  he  was  a  'Keshla,'  or  ringed  man,*  and  that  he  had  a  great 
three-cornered  hole  in  his  forehead.  In  another  second  he  re- 
moved his  hand,  revealing  a  powerful-looking  Zulu  face,  wdth  a 
humorous  mouth,  a  short  woolly  beard,  tinged  with  gray,  and  a 
pair  of  brown  eyes  keen  as  hawk's.  I  knew  my  man  at  once,  al- 
though I  had  not  seen  him  for  twelve  years.  'How  do  you  do, 
Umslopogaas?'  I  said  quietly  in  Zulu. 

The  tall  man  (who  among  his  own  people  was  commonl}'-  known 
as  the  'Woodpecker,'  and  also  as  the  'Slaughterer')  started  and 
almost  let  the  long-handled  battle-axe  he  held  in  his  hand  fall  in 
his 'astonishment.  Next  second  he  had  recognized  me,  and  was 
saluting  me  in  an  outburst  of  sonorous  language  which  made  his 
companions  the  Wakwafi  stare.' 

'Koos'  (chief),  be  began,  'Koos-y-Pagate!  Koos-y-umcool! 
(Chief  from  of  old — mighty  chief)  Koos!  Baba!  (father)  Macu- 
mazahn,  old  hunter,  slayer  of  elephants,  eater  up  of  lions,  clever 
one!  watchful  one!  brave  one!  quick  one!  whose  shot  never 
misses,  who  strikes  straight  home,  who  grasps  a  hand  and  holds 
it  to  the  death  (i.  e.,  is  a  true  friend)  Koos!  Baba!  Wise  is  the 
voice  of  our  people  that  says,  ''Mountain  never  meets  with 
mountain,  but  at  da^-break  or  at  even  man  shall  meet  again 
with  man."  Behold!  a  messenger  came  up  from  Natal,  "Macu- 
mazahn  is  dead!"  cried  he.  "The  land  knows  Macumazahn  no 
more."  That  is  j-ears  ago.   And  now,  behold,  now  in  this  strange 

*  Among  the  Zulus  a  man  assumes  the  ring,  which  is  made  of  a  species 
of  black  gum  twisted  in  with  hair,  and  polished  a  brilliant  black,  when  he 
has  reached  a  certain  dignity  and  age.  or  is  the  husband  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  wives.  Till  he  is  in  a  position  to  wear  a  ring  he  is  looked  on  as 
a  boy.  though  he  may  be  thirty-five  years  of  age.  or  even  more.— A.  Q. 


22  Alla?i  Quatermain, 

place  of  stinks  I  find  Macumazahn,  my  friend.  There  is  no 
roora  for  doubt.  The  brush  of  the  old  jackal  has  gone  a  little 
grey  ;  but  is  not  his  eye  as  keen,  and  his  teeth  as  sharp  ?  Ha  ! 
ha  !  Macumazahn,  mindest  thou  how  thou  didst  plant  the  ball 
in  the  eye  of  the  charging  buffalo — mindest  thcu * 

I  had  let  him  run  on  thus  because  I  saw  that  his  enthusiasm 
was  producing  a  marked  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  five  Wak- 
wafi,  who  appeared  to  understand  something  of  his  talk ;  but 
now  I  thought  it  time  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  for  there  is  nothing 
that  I  hate  so  much  as  this  Zulu  system  of  extravagant  praising 
— '  bongering  '  as  they  call  it.  '  Silence  ! '  I  said.  '  Has  all  thy 
noisy  talk  been  stopped  up  since  last  I  saw  thee  that  it  breaks 
out  thus,  and  sweeps  us  away  ?  What  doest  thou  here  with 
these  men — thou  whom  I  left  a  chief  in  Zululand  ?  How  is  it 
that  thou  art  far  frorathine  ownplace,  and  gathered  together  with 
strangers  ? ' 

Umslopogaas  leant  himr^lf  upon  the  head  of  his  long  battle- 
axe  (which  was  nothing  else  but  a  pole-axe,  with  a  beautiful 
handle  of  rhinoceros  horn),  and  his  grim  face  grew  sad. 

'  My  father,'  he  answered,  *  I  have  a  word  to  tell  thee,  but  I 
cannot  speak  it  before  these  low  people  (umfagozana),'  and  he 
glanced  at  the  Wakwafi  Askari ;  *  It  is  for  thine  own  ear.  My 
Father,  this  will  I  say,'  and  here  his  face  grew  stern  again,  '  a 
woman  betrayed  me  to  the  death,  and  covered  my  name  with 
shame — ay,  my  own  wife,  a  round-faced  girl,  betrayed  rae  ;  but 
I  escaped  from  death;  ay,  I  broke  from  the  very  hands  of  those 
who  came  to  slay  me.  I  struck  but  three  blows  with  this  mine 
axe  Inkosikaas — surely  my  Father  will  remember  it — one  to  the 
right,  one  to  the  left,  and  one  in  front,  and  yet  I  left  three  men 
dead.  And  then  I  fled,  and,  as  my  Father  knows,  even  now 
that  I  am  old,  my  feet  are  as  the  feet  of  the  Sassaby,*  and  there 
breathes  not  the  man  who,  by  running,  can  touch  me  again 
when  once  I  have  bounded  from  his  side.  On  I  sped,  and 
after  me  came  the  messengers  of  death,  and  their  voice  was  as 
the  voice  of  dogs  that  hunt.  From  my  own  kraal  I  flew,  and^ 
as  I  passed,  she  who  had  betrayed  me  was  drawing  water  from 
the  spring.  I  fleeted  by  her  like  the  shadow  of  death,  and  as  I 
went  I  smote  with  mine  axe,  and  lo !  her  head  fell :  it  fell  into 
the  water  pan.  Then  I  fled  north.  Day  after  day  I  journeyed 
on  ;  for  three  moons  1  journeyed,  resting  not,  stopping  not,  but 

•  One  of  the  fleetest  of  the  African  antelopes. 


The  ConsuVs  Yam,  23 

running  on  towards  forgetfulness,  till  I  met  the  party  of  the 
white  hunter,  who  is  now  dead,  and  am  come  hither  with  his 
servants.  And  nought  have  I  brought  with  me.  I,  who  was  high- 
born, ay,  of  the  blood  of  Chaka,  the  great  king — a  chief,  and  a 
captain  of  the  regiment  of  the  Nkomabakosi — am  a  wanderer 
in  strange  places,  a  man  without  a  kraal.  Nought  have  I 
brought  save  this  mine  axe  ;  of  all  my  belongings  this  remains 
alone.  They  have  divided  my  cattle ;  they  have  taken  my 
wives ;  and  my  children  know  my  face  no  more.  Yet  with  this 
axe ' — and  he  swung  the  formidable  weapon  round  his  head, 
making  the  air  hiss  as  he  clove  it — *  will  I  cut  another  path  to 
fortune.     I  have  spoken.' 

I  shook  my  head  at  him.  *  Umslopogaas,'  I  said,  *  I  know 
thee  from  of  old.  Ever  ambitious,  ever  plotting  to  be  great,  I 
fear  me  that  thou  hast  overreached  thyself  at  last.  Years  ago, 
when  thou  wouldst  have  plotted  against  Cetywayo,  son  of  Panda, 
I  warned  thee,  and  thou  didst  listen.  But  now,  when  I  was  not 
by  thee  to  stay  thy  hand,  thou  hast  dug  a  pit  for  thine  own  feet 
to  fall  in.  Is  it  not  so  ?  But  what  is  done  is  done.  Who  can 
make  the  dead  tree  green,  or  gaze  again  upon  last  year's  light  ? 
Who  can  recall  the  spoken  word,  or  bring  back  the  spirit  of  the 
fallen  ?  That  which  Time  swallows  comes  not  up  again.  Let 
it  be  forgotten  ! 

'  And  now  behold,  Umslopogaas,  I  know  thee  for  a  great 
warrior  and  a  brave  man,  faithful  to  the  death.  Even  in  Zulu- 
land,  where  all  the  men  are  brave,  they  called  thee  the 
"  Slaughterer,"  and  at  night  told  stories  round  the  fire  of  thy 
strength  and  deeds.  Hear  me  now.  Thou  seest  this  great 
man,  my  friend,' — and  I  pointed  to  Sir  Henry ;  '  he  also  is  a 
warrior  as  great  as  thou,  and  strong  as  thou  art  he  could  throw 
thee  over  his  shoulder.  Incubu  is  his  name.  And  thou  seest 
this  one  also  ;  him  with  the  round  stomach,  the  shining  eye,  and 
the  pleasant  face.  Bougwan  (glass  eye)  is  his  name,  and  a  good 
man  is  he  and  a  true,  being  of  a  curious  tribe  who  pass  their 
life  upon  the  water,  and  live  in  floating  kraals. 

*  Now,  we  three  whom  thou  seest  would  travel  inland,  past 
Dongo  Egere,  the  great  white  mountain  (Mt.  Kenia),  and  far 
into  the  unknown  beyond.  We  know  not  what  we  shall  find 
there;  we  go  to  hunt  and  seek  adventures,  and  new  places, 
Deing  tired  of  sitting  still,  with  the  same  old  things  around  us. 
\MIt  thou  come  with  us?  To  thee  shall  be  given  command  of 
all  our  servants ;  but  what  shall  befall  thee,  that  I  know  not. 


24  Allan  Quaternmin. 

Once  before  we  three  journeyed  thus,  and  we  took  with  us  a 
man  such  as  thou — one  Umbopa  ;  and,  behold,  we  left  him  the 
king  of  a  great  country,  with  twenty  Impas  (regiments),  each  of 
3,000  plumed  warriors,  waiting  on  his  word.  How  it  shall  go 
with  thee  I  know  not ;  mayhap  death  awaits  thee  and  us.  Wilt 
thou  throw  thyself  to  Fortune  and  come,  or  fearest  thou,  Um- 
slopogaas?* 

The  great  man  smiled.  'Thou  art  not  altogether  right, 
Macumazahn,'  he  said ;  *  I  have  plotted  in  my  time,  but  it  was 
not  ambition  that  led  me  to  my  fall ;  but,  shame  on  me  that  I 
should  have  to  say  it,  a  fair  woman's  face.  Let  it  pass.  So  we 
are  going  to  see  something  Hke  the  old  times  again,  Macuma- 
zahn, when  we  fought  and  hunted  in  Zululand  ?  Ay,  I  will 
come.  Come  life,  come  death,  what  care  I,  so  that  the  blows 
fall  fast  and  the  blood  runs  red  ?  I  grow  old,  I  grew  old,  and 
I  have  not  fought  enough !  And  yet  am  I  a  'W'arrior  among 
warriors  ;  see  my  scars ' — and  he  pointed  to  countless  cicatrices, 
stabs  and  cuts,  that  marked  the  skin  of  his  chest  and  legs  and 
arms.  '  See  the  hole  in  my  head  ;  the  brains  gushed  out  there- 
from, yet  did  I  slay  him  who  smote,  and  hve.  Knowest  thou 
how  many  men  I  have  slain,  in  fair  hand-to-hand  combat,  Ma- 
cumazahn ?  See,  here  is  the  tale  of  them  ' — and  he  pointed  to 
long  rows  of  notches  cut  in  the  rhinoceros-horn  handle  of  his 
axe.  *  Number  them,  Macumazahe — one  hundred  and  three — 
and  I  have  never  counted  but  those  whom  I  have  ripped  open,* 
nor  have  I  reckoned  those  whom  another  man  had  struck.' 

*  Be  silent,'  I  said,  for  I  saw  that  he  was  getting  the  blood 
fever  on  him ;  '  be  silent;  well  art  thou  called  the  "  Slaughterer." 
We  would  not  hear  of  thy  deeds  of  blood.  Remember,  if  thou 
comest  with  us,  we  fight  not  save  in  self  defence.  Listen,  we 
need  servants.  These  men,'  and  I  pointed  to  the  Wakwafi, 
who  had  retired  a  little  way  during  our  '  indaba '  (talk),  '  say 
they  will  not  come.* 

'  Will  not  come  ?  '  shouted  Umslopogaas  :  *  where  is  the  dog 
who  says  he  will  not  come  when  my  Father  orders  ?  Here, 
thou  ' — and  with  a  single  bound  he  sprang  upon  the  Wakwafi 
with  whom  I  had  first  spoken,  and,  seizing  him  by  the  arm, 
dragged  him  toward  us.     *  Thou  dog  1 '  he  said,  giving  the  ter- 

•  Alludinp^  to  the  Zu!m  custom  of  openin':^  the  stomach  of  a  dead  foe.  They 
hive  a  superstition  that,  if  this  is  not  done,  as  (he  body  of  their  enemy  swells 
u;  so  will  the  bodies  of  those  who  killr  \  him  swell  up. 


The  Black  Hand.  25 

rified  man  a  shake,  *  didst  thou  say  that  thou  wouMst  not  go 
with  my  Father  ?  Say  it  once  more  and  I  will  choke  thee ' — 
and  his  long  fingers  closed   round   his  throat  as  he  said  it — 

*  thee,  and  those  with  thee.  Hast  thou  forgotten  how  I  served 
thy  brother  ? ' 

*  Nay,  we  will  come  with  the  white  man,'  gasped  the  man. 

*  White  man  ! '  went  on  Umslopogaas,  in  simulated  fury, 
which  a  very  little  provocation  would  have  made  real  enough  ; 

*  of  whom  speak  est  thou,  insolent  dog  ? ' 

*  Nay,  we  will  go  with  the  great  chief.' 

*  So,'  said  Umslopogaas,  in  a  quiet  voice,  as  he  suddenly  re 
leased  his  hold,  so  that  the  man  fell  backward.  *  I  thought  you 
would.' 

'That  man  Umslopagaas  seems  to  have  a  curious  morales,- 
cendency  over  his  companions,'  Good  afterwards  remarked 
thoughtfully, 


CHAPTER  n. 

THE   BLACK   HAND. 


In  due  course  we  left  Lamu,  and  ten  days  afterwards  we  found 
ourselves  at  a  spot  called  Charra,  on  the  Tana  River,  having 
gone  through  many  adventures  which  need  not  be  recorded 
here.  Amongst  other  thinge  we  visited  a  ruined  city,  of  which 
there  are  many  on  this  coast,  and  which  must  once,  to  judge 
from  their  extent  and  the  numerous  remains  of  mosques  and 
stone  houses,  have  been  very  populous  places.  These  ruined 
cities  are  immeasurably  ancient,  having,  I  believe,  been  places 
of  wealth  and  importance  as  far  back  as  the  Old  Testament 
times,  when  they  were  centres  of  trade  with  India  and  else- 
where. But  their  glory  has  departed  now — the  slave  trade  has 
finished  them — and  where  once  wealthy  merchants  from  all 
parts  of  the  then  civilized  world  stood  and  bargained  in  the 
crowded  market-places,  the  lion  holds  his  court  at  night,  and 
instead  of  the  chattering  of  slaves  and  the  eager  voices  of  the 
bidders,  hi?  awful  note  goes  echoing  down  the  ruined  corridors. 
At  this  particular  place  we  discovered  on  a  mound,  covered  up 
with  rank  growth  and  rubbish,  two  of  the  most  beautiful  stone 
B 


26  Allan  Quatermain, 

doorways  that  it  is  possible  to  conceive.     The  carving  on  them 
was  simply  exquisite,  and  I  only  regret  that  we  had  no  means 
of  getting  them  away.     No  doubt  they  had  once  been  the  en- 
trances to  a  palace,  of  which,  however,  no  traces  were  now  to 
be  seen,  though  probably  its  ruins  lay  under  the  rising  mound. 
Gone !  quite  gone  !  the  way  that  ever>-thing  must  go.     Like 
the  nobles  and  the  ladies  who  Hved  within  their  gates,  these 
cities  have  had  their  day,  and  now  they  are  as   Babylon  and 
Nineveh,  and  as  London  and  Paris  will  one  day  be.     Nothing 
may  endure.     That  is  the  inexorable  law.     Men  and  women, 
empires  and  cities,  thrones,  principalities  and  powers,  moun- 
tains, rivers,  and  unfathomed  seas,  worlds,  spaces,  and  universes, 
all  have  their  day,  and  all  must  go.     In  this  ruined  and  forgot- 
ten place  the  moralist  may  behold  a  symbol  of  the  universal 
destiny.     For  this  system  of  ours  allows  no  room  for  standing 
still — nothing  can  loiter  on  the  road  and  check  the  progress  of 
things  upwards  towards  Life,  or  the  rush  of  things  downwards 
towards  Death.  The  stem  policeman  Fate  moves  us  and  them  on, 
on,  uphill  and  downhill  and  across  the  level ;  there  is  no  resting- 
place  for  the  weary  feet,  till  at  last  the  abyss  swallows  us,  and 
from  the  shores  of  the  Transitory  we  are  hurled  into  the  sea 
of  the  Eternal. 

At  Charra  we  had  a  violent  quarrel  with  the  headman  of  the 
oearers  we  had  hired  to  go  as  far  as  this,  and  who  now  wished 
to  extort  large  extra  payment  from  us.  In  the  result  he  threat- 
ened to  set  the  Masai — about  whom  more  anon — on  to  us. 
That  night  he,  with  all  our  hired  bearers,  bolted,  stealing  most, 
of  the  goods  which  had  been  entrusted  to  them  to  '  carr>'. 
Luckily,  however,  they  had  not  happened  to  steal  our  rifles, 
ammunition,  and  personal  effects,  not  because  of  any  delicacy 
of  feeling  on  their  part,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  chanced 
to  be  in  the  charge  of  the  five  Wakwafis.  After  that,  it  was  clear 
to  us  that  we  had  had  enough  of  caravans  and  of  bearers.  In- 
deed, we  had  not  much  left  for  a  caravan  to  carry.  And  yet, 
how  were  we  to  get  on  ? 

It  was  Good  who  solved  the  question.  *  Here  is  water,'  he 
said,  pointing  to  the  Tana  River  ;  *  and  yesterday  I  saw  a  party 
of  natives  hunting  hippopotami  in  canoes.  I  understand  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  mission  station  is  on  the  Tana  River.  Why 
not  get  into  canoes  and  paddle  up  to  it  ? ' 

This  brilliant  suggestion  was,  needless  to  say,  received  with 
icclamation ;  and  I  instantly  set  to  wuik  to  buy  suitable  canoes 


The  Black  Hand.  27 

from  the  surrounding  natives.  I  succeeded  after  a  delay  of 
three  days  in  obtaining  two  large  ones,  each  hollowed  out  of  a 
single  log  of  some  light  wood,  and  capable  of  holding  six  people 
and  baggage.  For  these  two  canoes  we  had  to  pay  nearly  all 
our  remaining  cloth,  and  also  many  other  articles. 

On  the  day  following  our  purchase  of  the  two  canoes  we 
effected  a  start.  In  the  first  canoe  were  Good,  Sir  Henry,  and 
three  of  our  Wakwafi  followers ;  in  the  second  myself,  Umslopo- 
gaas,  and  the  other  two  Wakwafis.  As  our  course  lay  up 
stream  we  had  to  keep  four  paddles  at  work  in  each  canoe, 
which  meant  that  the  whole  lot  of  us,  except  Good,  had  to  row 
away  like  galley-slaves ;  and  ver)^  exhausting  work  it  was.  I 
say,  except  Good,  for,  of  course,  the  moment  that  Good  got  in- 
to a  boat  his  foot  was  on  his  native  heath,  and  he  took  com- 
mand of  the  party.  And  certainly  he  worked  us  !  On  shore 
Good  is  a  gentle,  mild-mannered  man,  and  given  to  jocosity ; 
but,  as  we  found  to  our  cost.  Good  in  a  boat  was  a  perfect  demon. 
To  begin  wath,  he  knew  all  about  it  and  we  didn't.  On  all 
nautical  subjects,  from  the  torpedo  fittings  of  a  man-of-war 
down  to  the  best  way  of  handling  the  paddle  of  an  African 
canoe,  he  was  a  pefect  mine  of  information,  which,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  we  were  not.  Also  his  ideas  of  discipline  were  of 
the  sternest,  and,  in  short,  he  came  the  royal  naval  officer  over 
us  pretty  considerably,  and  paid  us  out  amply  for  all  the  chaff 
we  were  wont  to  treat  him  to  on  land  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
I  am  bound  to  say  that  he  managed  the  boats  admirably. 

After  the  first  day  Good  succeeded,  with  the  help  of  some  cloth 
and  a  couple  of  poles,  in  rigging  up  a  sail  in  each  canoe,  which 
lightened  our  labours  not  a  little.  But  the  current  ran  very 
strong  against  us,  and  at  the  best  we  were  not  able  to  make 
more  than  twenty  miles  a  day.  Our  plan  was  to  start  at  dawn, 
and  paddle  along  till  about  half  past  ten,  by  which  time  the  sun 
got  too  hot  to  allow  of  further  exertion.  Then  we  moored  our 
canoes  to  the  bank,  and  ate  our  frugal  meal ;  after  which  we 
slept  or  othen,vise  amused  ourselves  till  about  three  o'clock, 
when  we  again  started,  and  rowed  till  within  an  hour  of  sun- 
dov/n,  when  we  called  a  halt  for  the  night.  On  landing  in  the 
evening  Good  would  at  once  set  to  work,  with  the  help  of  the 
Askari,  to  build  a  little  '  scherm,'  or  small  enclosure,  fenced 
with  thorn  bushes,  and  to  light  a  fire.  I,  with  Sir  Henry  and 
Umslopogaas,  would  go  out  to  shoot  something  for  the  pot. 
Generally  this  was  an  easy  task,  for  all  sorts  of  game  abounded 


28  Allan  Quatcrynain, 

on  the  banks  of  the  Tana.  One  night  Sir  Henry  shot  a  young 
cow  girafle,  of  which  the  marrow-bones  were  excellent ;  on  an- 
other I  got  a  couple  of  waterbuck  right  and  left ;  and  once,  to 
his  own  intense  satisfaction,  Umslopogaas  (who,  like  most 
Zulus,  was  a  vile  shot  with  a  rifle)  managed  to  kill  a  fine  fat 
eland  with  a  Martini  I  had  lent  him.  Sometimes  we  varied  our 
food  by  shooting  some  guinea-fowl,  or  bush-bustard  (paau) — both 
of  which  were  numerous — with  a  shot-gun,  or  by  catching  a  sup- 
ply of  beautiful  yellow  fish,  with  which  the  waters  of  the  Tana 
swarmed,  and  which  form,  I  believe,  one  of  the  chief  food-sup- 
plies of  the  crocodiles. 

Three  days  after  oar  start  an  ominous  incident  occurred. 
We  were  just  drawing  in  to  the  bank  to  make  our  camp  as 
usual  for  the  night,  when  we  caught  sight  of  a  figure  standing 
on  a  little  knoll  not  forty  yards  away  and  intently  watching  our 
approach.  One  glance  was  sufficient — although  I  was  person- 
ally unacquainted  with  the  tribe — to  tell  me  that  he  was  a 
Masai  Elmoran,  or  young  warrior.  Indeed,  had  I  had  any 
doubts,  they  would  have  quickly  been  dispelled  by  the  terrified 
ejaculation  of  '  Masai  T  that  burst  simultaneously  from  the 
lips  of  our  Wakwafi  followers,  who  are,  as  I  think  I  have  said, 
themselves  bastard  Masai. 

And  what  a  figure  he  presented  as  he  stood  there  in  his  sav- 
age war-gear  !  Accustomed  as  I  have  been  to  savages  all  my 
life,  I  do  not  think  that  I  have  ever  before  seen  anything  quite 
so  ferocious  or  awe-inspiring.  To  begin  with,  the  man  was 
enormously  tall,  quite  as  tall  as  Umslopogaas,  I  should  say,  and 
beautifully,  though  somewhat  slightly  shaped,  but  with  the  face 
of  a  devil.  In  his  right  hand  he  held  a  spear  about  five  and  a 
half  feet  long,  the  blade  being  two  and  a  half  feet  in  length,  by 
neariy  three  mches  in  width,  and  having  an  iron  spike  at  the 
end  of  the  handle  that  measured  more  than  a  foot.  On  his 
left  arm  was  a  large  and  well-made  eliptical  shield  of  buffalo 
hide,  on  which  were  painted  strange  heraldic-looking  devices. 
On  his  shoulders  was  a  huge  cape  of  hawk's  feathers,  and  round 
his  neck  was  a  *  naibere,'  or  strip  of  cotton  about  seventeen 
feet  long,  by  one  and  a  half  broad,  with  a  stripe  of  colour  run- 
ning down  the  middle  of  it.  The  tanned  goatskin  robe,  which 
formed  his  ordinary  attire  in  times  of  peace,  was  tied  lightly 
round  his  waist,  so  as  to  serve  the  purposes  of  a  belt,  and 
through  it  were  stuck,  on  the  right  and  left  sides  respectively, 
his  siiort,  pear-shaped  sime,  or  sword,  which  is  made  of  »  single 


Tlie  Black  Hand,  a9 

piece  of  steel,  and  carried  in  a  wooden  sheath,  and  an  enor- 
mous knobkerrie.  But  perhaps  the  most  reroarkable  feature  of 
his  attire  consisted  of  a  head-dress  of  ostricn  feathers,  which 
was  iixed  on  the  chin  and  passed  in  front  of  the  ears  to  the 
forehead,  and,  being  shaped  like  an  eUipse,  completely  framed 
the  face  so  that  the  diabolical  countenance  appeared  to  project 
from  a  sort  of  feather  fire-screen.  Round  the  ankles  he  wore 
black  fringes  of  hair,  and  projecting  from  the  upper  portion  of 
the  calves,  to  which  they  were  attached,  were  long  spurs  like 
spikes,  from  which  flowed  down  tufts  of  the  beautiful  black  and 
waving  hair  of  the  Colobus  monkey.  Such  was  the  elaborate 
array  of  the  Masai  Elmoran  who  stood  watching  the  approach 
of  our  two  canoes,  but  it  is  one  which,  to  be  appreciated  must 
be  seen  ;  only  those  who  see  it  do  not  often  live  to  describe  it. 
Of  course  I  could  not  make  out  all  these  details  of  his  full  dress 
on  the  occasion  of  this  my  first  introduction,  being  indeed 
amply  taken  up  with  the  consideration  of  the  general  effect,  but 
I  had  plenty  of  subsequent  opportunities  of  becoming  acquaint- 
ed with  the  items  that  went  to  make  it  up. 

Whilst  we  were  hesitating  what  to  do,  the  Masai  warrior 
drew  himself  up  in  a  dignified  fashion,  shook  his  huge  spear  at 
us,  and,  turning,  vanished  on  the  further  side  of  the  slope. 

'  Hulloa  ! '  holloaed  Sir  Henry  from  the  other  boat ;  *  our 
friend  the  caravan  leader  has  been  as  good  as  his  word,  and  set 
the  Masai  after  us.     Do  you  think  it  will  be  safe  to  go  ashore?' 

I  did  not  think  it  would  be  at  all  safe ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  had  no  means  of  cooking  in  the  canoes,  and  nothing 
that  we  could  eat  raw,  so  it  was  difficult  to  know  what  to  do. 
At  last  Umslopogaas  simplified  matters  by  volunteering  to  go 
and  reconnoitre,  which  he  did,  creeping  off  into  the  bush  like 
a  snake,  whilst  we  hung  off  in  the  stream  waiting  for  him.  In 
half  an  hour  he  returned,  and  told  us  that  there  was  not  a  Masai 
to  be  seen  anywhere  about,  but  that  he  had  discovered  a  spot 
where  they  had  recently  been  encamped,  and  that  from  various 
indications  he  judged  that  they  must  have  moved  on  an  hour 
or  so  before  ;  the  man  we  saw  having  no  doubt  been  left  to  re- 
port upon  our  movements. 

Thereupon  we  landed ;  and,  having  posted  a  sentry,  pre- 
ceeded  to  cook  and  eat  our  evening  meal.  This  done,  we  took 
the  situation  into  our  serious  consideration.  Of  course,  it  was 
possible  that  the  apparition  of  the  Masai  warrior  had  nothing 
to  do  with  us,  that  he  was  merely  one  of  a  band  bent  upon 


30  Allan  Quatermjin. 

some  marauding  and  murdering  expedition  against  another  tribe. 
Our  friend  the  Consul  had  told  us  that  such  expeditions  were 
about.  But  when  we  recalled  the  threat  of  the  caravan  leader, 
and  reflected  upon  the  ominous  way  in  which  the  warrior  had 
shaken  his  spear  at  us,  this  did  not  appear  very  probable.  On 
the  contrary,  what  did  seem  probable  was  that  the  party  was 
after  us  and  awaiting  a  favourable  opportunity  to  attack  us. 
This  being  so,  there  were  two  things  that  we  could  do — one  of 
which  was  to  go  on,  and  the  other  to  go  back.  The  latter  idea 
was,  however,  rejected  at  once,  it  being  obvious  that  we  should 
encounter  as  many  dangers  in  retreat  as  in  advance  j  and,  be- 
sides, we  had  made  up  our  minds  to  journey  onwards  at  any 
price.  Under  these  circumstances,  however,  we  did  not  con- 
sider it  safe  to  sleep  ashore,  so  we  got  into  our  canoes,  and, 
paddling  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  which  was  not  very 
wide  here,  managed  to  anchor  them  by  means  of  big  stones 
fastened  to  ropes  made  of  cocoanut-fibre,  of  which  there  were 
several  fathoms  in  each  canoe. 

Here  the  musquitoes  nearly  ate  us  up  alive,  and  this, 
combined  with  anxiety  as  to  our  position,  effectually  prevented 
me  from  sleeping  as  the  others  were  doing  notwithstanding 
the  attacks  of  the  aforesaid  Tana  musquitoes.  And  so  I  lay 
awake,  smoking  and  reflecting  on  many  things,  but,  being  of  a 
practical  turn  of  mind,  chiefly  on  how  we  v/ere  to  give  tho.se 
Masai  villains  the  slip.  It  was  a  beautiful  moonlight  night, 
and,  notwichstanding  the  musquitoes,  and  the  great  risk  we  were 
running  from  fever  from  sleeping  in  such  a  spot,  and  forgetting 
that  I  had  the  cramp  very  badly  in  my  right  leg  from  squatting 
in  a  constrained  position  in  the  canoe,  and  that  the  Wakwafi 
who  was  sleeping  by  me  smelt  horrible,  I  really  began  to  enjoy 
myself.  The  moonbeams  played  upon  the  surface  of  the  run- 
ning water  that  speeded  unceasingly  past  us  towards  the  sea, 
like  men's  lives  towards  the  grave,  till  it  glittered  like  a  wide 
sheet  of  silver,  that  is  in  the  open  where  the  trees  threw  no 
shadows.  Near  the  banks,  however,  it  was  very  dark,  and  the 
night  wind  sighed  sadly  in  the  reeds.  To  our  left,  on  the  fur- 
ther side  of  the  river,  was  a  little  sandy  bay  which  was  clear  of 
trees,  and  here  I  could  make  out  the  forms  of  numerous  ante- 
lopes advancing  to  the  water,  till  suddenly  there  came  an  omin- 
ous roar,  whereupon  they  all  made  off  hurriedly.  Then  after  a 
pause  I  cauglit  siglu  of  the  massive  form  of  His  Majesty  the 
Lion,  coming  down  to  drink   hi.s  fill  after  meat.     Presently  he 


The  Black  Hand.  %X 

moved  on,  then  came  a  crashing  of  the  reeds  about  fifty  yards 
above  us,  and  a  few  minutes  later  a  huge  black  mass  rose  out 
of  the  water,  about  twenty  yards  from  me,  and  snorted.  It  was 
the  head  of  a  hippopotamus.  Down  it  went  without  a  sound, 
only  to  rise  again  within  five  yards  of  where  I  sat.  This  was 
decidedly  too  near  to  be  comfortable,  more  especially  as  the 
hippopotamus  was  evidently  animated  by  intense  curiosity  to 
know  what  on  earth  our  canoes  were.  He  opened  his  great 
mouth,  to  yawn  I  suppose,  and  gave  me  an  excellent  view  of 
his  ivories  ;  and  I  could  not  help  reflecting  how  easily  he  could 
crunch  up  our  frail  canoe  with  a  single  bite.  Indeed,  I  had 
half  a  mind  to  give  him  a  ball  from  my  eight-bore,  but  on  re- 
flection determined  to  let  him  alone  unless  he  actually  made 
for  the  boat.  Presently  he  sank  again  as  noiselessly  as  before, 
and  I  saw  no  more  of  him.  Just  then,  on  looking  towards  the 
bank  on  our  right,  I  fancied  that  I  caught  sight  of  a  dark  figure 
flitting  between  the  tree  trunks.  I  have  very  keen  sight,  and  I 
was  almost  sure  that  I  saw  something,  but  whether  it  was  bird, 
beast,  or  man  I  could  not  say.  At  the  moment,  however,  a  dark 
cloud  passed  over  the  moon,  and  I  saw  no  more  of  it.  Just 
then,  too,  although  all  the  other  sounds  of  the  forest  had  ceased, 
a  species  of  horned  owl  with  which  I  was  well  acquainted  be- 
gan to  hoot  with  great  persistency.  After  that,  save  for  the 
rustling  of  the  trees  and  reeds  when  the  wind  caught  them, 
there  was  complete  silence. 

But  somehow,  in  the  most  unaccountable  way,  I  had  suddenly 
become  nervous.  There  was  no  particular  reason  why  I  should 
be,  beyond  the  ordinary  reasons  which  surround  the  Central 
African  traveller,  and  yet  I  undoubtedly  was.  If  there  is  one 
thing  more  than  another  of  which  I  have  the  most  complete  and 
entire  scorn  and  disbelief,  it  is  of  presentiments,  and  yet  here  I 
was  all  of  a  sudden  filled  with  and  possessed  by  a  most  un- 
doubted presentiment  of  approaching  evil.  I  would  not  give 
way  to  it,  however,  although  I  felt  the  cold  perspiration  stand 
out  upon  my  forehead.  I  would  not  arouse  the  others.  Worse 
and  worse  I  grew,  my  pulse  fluttered  like  a  dying  man's,  my 
nerves  thrilled  with  the  horrible  sense  of  impotent  terror  which 
anybody  who  is  subject  to  nightmare  will  be  familiar  with,  but 
still  my  will  triumphed  over  my  fears,  and  I  lay  quiet  (for  I  was 
half  sitting,  half  lying,  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe),  only  turning 
my  face  so  as  to  command  a  view  of  Umslopogaas  and  the  two 
Wakwafi  who  were  sleeping  alongside  of  and  beyond  me- 


3a  Allan  Quatermatn. 

In  the  distance  I  heard  a  hippopotamus  splash  faintly,  then 
the  owl  hooted  again  in  a  kind  of  unnatural  screaming  note,* 
and  the  wind  began  to  moan  plaintively  through  the  trees, 
making  a  heart-chilling  music  Above  was  the  black  bosom  of 
the  cloud,  and  beneath  me  swept  the  black  flood  of  the  water, 
and  I  felt  as  though  I  and  Death  were  utterly  alone  between 
hhem.     It  was  very  desolate. 

Suddenly  my  blood  seemed  to  freeze  in  my  veins,  and  my 
heart  to  stand  still.  Was  it  fancy,  or  were  we  moving  ?  I  turned 
my  eyes  to  look  for  the  other  canoe  which  should  be  alongside 
of  us.  I  could  not  see  it,  but  instead  I  saw  a  lean  and  clutch- 
ing black  hand  lifting  itself  above  the  gunwale  of  the  little  boat. 
Surely  it  was  a  nightmare  !  At  the  same  instant  a  dim  but 
devilish-looking  face  appeared  to  rise  out  of  the  water,  and  then 
came  a  lurch  of  the  canoe,  the  quick  flash  of  a  knife,  and  an 
awful  yell  from  the  Wakwafi  who  was  sleeping  by  my  side  (the 
same  poor  fellow  whose  odour  had  been  annoying  me),  and 
something  warm  spurted  into  my  face.  In  an  instant  the  spell 
was  broken  ;  I  knew  that  it  was  no  nightmare,  but  that  we  were 
attacked  by  swimming  Masai.  Snatching  at  the  first  weapon 
that  came  to  hand, which  happened  to  be  Umslopogaas's  battle- 
axe,  I  struck  with  all  my  force  in  the  direction  in  which  I  had 
seen  the  flash  the  knife.  The  blow  fell  upon  a  man's  arm,  and, 
catching  it  against  the  thick  wooden  gunwale  of  the  canoe,  com- 
pletely severed  it  from  the  body  just  above  the  wrist.  As  for  its 
owner,  he  uttered  no  sound  or  cry.  Like  a  ghost  he  came,  and 
like  a  ghost  he  went,  leaving  behind  him  a  bloody  hand  still 
gripping  a  great  knife,  or  rather  a  short  sword,  that  was  buried 
in  the  heart  of  our  poor  servant. 

Instantly  there  arose  a  hubbub  and  confusion,  and  I  fancied, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  that  I  made  out  several  dark  heads  gliding 
away  towards  the  right-hand  bank,  whither  we  were  rapidly 
drifting,  for  the  rope  by  which  we  were  moored  had  been  sev- 
ered with  a  knife.  As  soon  as  I  had  realized  this  fact,  I  also 
realized  that  the  scheme  had  been  to  cut  the  boat  loose  so  that 
it  should  drift  on  to  the  right  bank  (as  it  would  have  done  with 
the  natural  swing  of  the  current),  where  no  doubt  a  party  of 
Masai  were  in  waiting  to  dig  their  shovel-headed  spears  into  us. 
Seizing  one  paddle  myself,  1  told  Umslopogaas  to  take  another 


•  No  doubt  this  owl  was  a  wingless  bird.     I  afterwards  learnt  that  th« 
booting  of  an  owl  is  a  favourite       ■^i\  amoDg  th«  Masai  tribes. 


The  Mission  Station.  33 

(for  the  remaining  Askari  was  too  frightened  and  bewildered  to 
be  of  any  use),  and  together  we  rowed  vigorously  out  towards 
the  middle  of  the  stream;  and  not  an  instant  too  soon,  for  in  an- 
other minute  we  should  have  been  aground,  and  there  would 
have  been  an  end  of  us. 

As  soon  as  we  were  well  out,  we  set  to  work  to  paddle  the  canoe 
up  stream  again  to  where  the  other  was  moored;  and  ver}'  hard 
and  dangerous  work  it  was  in  the  dark,  and  with  nothing  but 
Good's  stentorian  shouts,  which  he  kept  firing  off  at  inten^als  like 
a  fog-horn,  to  guide  us.  But  at  last  we  fetched  up,  and  were 
thankful  to  find  that  they  had  not  been  molested  at  all.  No  doubt 
the  owner  of  the  same  hand  that  severed  our  rope  should  have 
severed  theirs  also,  but  was  led  away  from  his  purpose  by  an 
irresistible  incHnation  to  murder  when  he  got  the  chance,  which, 
whilst  it  cost  us  a  man  and  him  his  hand,  undoubtedly  saved  all 
the  rest  of  us  from  massacre.  Had  it  not  been  for  that  ghastly 
apparition  over  the  side  of  the  boat — an  apparition  that  I  shall 
never  forget  till  my  dying  hour — the  canoe  would  undoubtedly 
have  drifted  ashore  before  I  realized  what  had  happened,  and 
this  history  would  never  have  been  written  by  me. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE    MISSION    STATION. 

We  made  the  remains  of  our  rope  fast  to  the  other  canoe,  and 

sat  waiting  for  the  dawn  and  congratulating  ourselves  upon  our 

merciful  escape,  which  really  seemed  to  result  more  from  the 

special  favor  of  Providence  than  from  our  own  care  or  prowess. 

At  last  it  came,  and  I  have  not  often  been  more  grateful  to  see 

the  Ught,  though  so  far  as  my  canoe  was  concerned  it  revealed 

a  ghastly  sight     There  iu  the  bottom  of  the  Utile  boat  lay  the 

unfortunate  Askari,  the  sime,  or  sword,  in  his  bosom,  and  the 

C  severed  hand  gripping  the  handle.     I  could  not  bear  the  sight, 

I    so  hauHng  up  the  stone  which  had  served  as  an  anchor  to  the 

I    other  canoe,  we  made  it  fast  to  the  murdered  man  and  dropped 

I    him  overboard,  and  down  he  went  to  the  bottom,  leaving  nothing 

)  but  a  train  of  bubbles  behind  him.     Alas!  when  our  time  comes, 

3 


34  Allan  Quafermain. 

\  most  of  us  lilce  him  leave  nothing  but  bubbles  behind,  to  show 
that  we  have  been,  and  the  bubbles  soon  burst.  The  hand  of 
his  murderer  we  threw  into  the  stream,  where  it  slowly  sank. 
The  sword,  of  which  the  handle  was  ivory,  inlaid  with  gold 
(e\idently  Arab  work),  I  kept  and  used  as  a  hunting-knife,  and 
very  useful  it  proved. 

Then,  a  man  having  been  transferred  to  my  canoe,  we 
once  more  started  on  in  very  low  spirits  and  not  feeling  at  all 
comfortable  as  to  the  future,  but  fondly  hoping  to  arrive  at 
the  *  Highlands '  station  by  night  To  make  matters  worse, 
within  an  hour  of  sunrise  it  came  on  to  rain  in  torrents,  wetting 
us  to  the  skin,  and  even  necessitating  the  occasional  baling  of 
the  canoes,  and  as  the  rain  beat  down  the  wind  we  could  not 
use  our  sails,  and  had  to  get  along  as  best  we  could  with  our 
paddles. 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  halted  on  an  open  piece  of  ground  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and,  the  rain  abating  a  little,  managed 
to  make  a  fire  and  catch  and  broil  some  fish.  We  did  not  dare 
to  wander  about  to  search  for  game.  At  two  o'clock  we  got  off 
again,  taking  a  supply  of  broiled  fish  w^ith  us,  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  rain  came  on  harder  than  ever.  Also  the  river  began 
to  get  exceedingly  difficult  to  navigate  on  account  of  the  numer- 
ous rocks,  reaches  of  shallow  water,  and  the  increased  force  of 
the  current ;  so  that  it  soon  became  clear  to  us  that  we  should 
not  reach  the  Rev.  Mackenzie's  hospitable  roof  that  night — a 
prospect  that  did  not  tend  to  enliven  us.  Toil  as  we  would,  we 
could^not  make  more  than  an  average  of  a  mile  an  hour,  and  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  (by  which  time  we  were  all  utterly 
worn  out)  we  reckoned  that  we  were  still  quite  ten  miles  below 
the  station.  This  being  so,  we  set  to  work  to  make  the  best 
arrangements  we  could  for  the  night.  After  our  recent  experi- 
ence, we  simply  did  not  dare  to  land,  more  especially  as  the 
banks  of  the  Tana  were  here  clothed  with  dense  bush  that 
would  have  given  cover  to  five  thousand  Masai,  and  at  first  I 
thought  that  we  were  going  to  have  another  night  of  it  in  the 
canoes.  Fortunately,  however,  we  espied  a  little  rocky  islet, 
not  more  than  fifteen  yards  or  so  square,  situated  nearly  in  the 
middle  of  the  river.  For  this  we  paddled,  and,  making  fast  the 
canoes,  landed  and  made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  circum- 
stances would  permit,  which  was  very  uncomfortable  indeed. 
As  for  the  weather,  it  continued  to  be  simply  vile,  the  rain  com- 
ing down  in  sheets  till  we  were  chilled  to  the  marrow,  and 


The  Mission  Station,  S5 

m.erly  preventing  tis  from  lighting  a  fire.     There  was,  however, 
one  consoling  circumstance  about  this  rain  :  our  Askari  declared 
that  nothing  would  induce  the  Masai  to  make  an  attack  in  it,  as 
they  intensely  disliked  moving  about   in  the  wet,  peihaps,  as 
Good  suggested,  because  they  hate  the  idea  of  washing.    We 
ate  some  insipid  and  sodden  cold  fish — that  is,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Umslopogaas,  who,  like  most  Zulus,  cannot  bear  fish — 
and  took  a  pull  of  brandy,  of  which  we  fortunately  had  a  few 
bottles  left,  and  then  commenced  what,  vdih  one  exception — 
when  we  same  three  white  men  nearly  perished  of  cold  on  the 
snow  of  Sheba's  Breast  in  the  course  ot  '. ur  journey  to  Kuku- 
analand— was,  I  think,  the  most  tr>ung  night  I  ever  experienced 
It  seemed  absolutely  endless,  and  onco  or  twice  I  feared  that 
two  of  the  Askari  would  have  died  of  the  wet,  cold,  and  expo- 
sure.    Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  timely  doses  of  brandy  I  am 
sure  that  they  would  have  died,  for  no  African  people  can  stand 
much  exposure,  which  first  paralyses  and  then  kills  them.     I 
could  see  that  even  that  iron  old  warrior  Umslopogaas  felt  it 
keenly ;   though,   in   strange   contrast  to   the  Wakwafis,  who 
groaned  and  bemoaned  their  fate  unceasingly,  he  never  uttered 
a  single  complaint.     To  make  matters  worse,  about  one  in  the 
morning  we  again  heard  the  owl's  ominous  hooting,  and  had  at 
once  to  prepare  ourselves  for  another  attack  ;  though,  if  it  had 
been  attempted,  I  do  not  think  that  we  could  have  ofiered  a 
very  effective  resistance.     But  either  the  owl  was  a  real  one 
this  time,  or  else  the  Masai  were  themselves  too  miserable  to 
think  of  offensive   operations,   which,   indeed,  they  rarely,   if 
ever,  undertake  in  bush  veldt.     At  any  rate,  we  saw  nothing  of 

them. 

At  last  the  dawn  came  gliding  across  the  water,  wrapped  in 
wreaths  of  ghostly  mist,  and,  with  the  daylight,  the  rain  ceased  ; 
and  then,  out  came  the  glorious  sun,  sucking  up  the  mists  and 
warmmg  the  chill  air.  Benumbed,  and  utterly  exhausted,  v/e 
dragged  ourselves  to  our  feet,  and  went  and  stood  in  the 
bright  rays,  and  were  thankful  for  them.  I  can  quite  under- 
stand how  it  is  that  primitive  people  become  sun  worshippers, 
especially  if  their  conditions  of  Hfe  render  them  liable  to  ex- 
posure. 

In  half  an  hour  more  we  were  once  again  making  fair  pro- 
gress with  the  help  of  a  good  wind.  Our  spirits  had  returned 
with  the  sunshine,  and  we  were  ready  to  laugh  at  difficulties 


S^  Allan  QuaUnnaift, 

and  dangers  that  had  been  ahnost  crushing  on  the  previous 
day. 

And  so  we  went  on  cheerily  till  about  eleven  o'clock.  Just 
as  we  were  thinking  of  halting  as  usual,  to  rest  and  tr}'  to  shoot 
something  to  eat,  a  sudden  bend  in  the  river  brought  us  in 
sight  of  a  substantial-looking  European  house  with  a  verandah 
round  it,  splendidly  situated  upon  a  hill,  and  surrounded  by  a 
high  stone  wall  with  a  ditch  on  the  outer  side.  Right  against 
and  overshadowing  the  house  was  an  enormous  pine,  the  top 
of  which  we  had  seen  through  a  glass  for  the  last  two  days, 
biit  of  course  without  knowing  that  it  marked  the  site  of  the 
mission  station.  I  was  the  first  to  see  the  house,  and  could  not 
restrain  myself  from  giving  a  hearty  cheer,  in  which  the  others, 
including  the  natives,  joined  lustily.  There  was  no  thought  of 
halting  now.  On  we  laboured,  for,  unfortunately,  though  the 
house  seemed  quite  near,  it  .3  still  a  long  way  off  by  river, 
until  at  last,  by  one  o'clock,  v,  -  found  ourselves  at  the  bottom 
of  the  slope  on  which  the  building  stood.  Running  the  canoes 
to  the  bank,  we  disembarked,  and  were  just  hauhng  them  up 
on  to  the  shore,  when  we  perceived  three  figures,  dressed  in 
ordinary  English-looking  clothes,  hurrying  down  through  a 
grove  of  trees  to  meet  us. 

*  A  gentleman,  a  lady,  and  a  httle  girl,'  ejaculated  Good,  after 
surveying  the  trio  through  his  eyeglass,  *  walking  in  a  civilised 
fashion,  through  a  civilised  garden,  to  meet  us  in  this  place. 
Hang  me,  if  this  isn't  the  most  curious  thing  we  have  seen 
yet ! ' 

Good  was  ri^ht :  it  certainly  did  seem  odd  and  out  of  place 
— more  like  a  scene  out  of  a  dream  or  an  Italian  opera  than  a 
real  tangible  fact ;  and  the  sense  of  unreality  was  not  lessened 
when  we  heard  ourselves  addressed  in  good  broad  Scotch, which, 
however,  I  cannot  reproduce. 

'  How  do  you  do,  sirs,'  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  a  grey-haired, 
angular  man,  with  a  kindly  face  and  red  cheeks  ;  *  I  hope  I  see 
you  very  well.  My  natives  told  me  an  hour  ago  they  spied 
two  canoes  with  white  men  in  them  coming  up  the  river ;  so 
we  have  just  come  down  to  meet  you.' 

'  And  it  is  very  glad  that  we  are  to  see  a  white  face  again,  let 
me  tell  you,'  put  in  the  lady— a  charming  and  refined-looking 
person. 

We  took  ofT  our  hats  in  acknowledgment,  and  proceeded  to 
introduce  ourselves. 


The  Mission  Station^  37 

•  And  now/  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  *  you  must  all  be  hungry 
and  weary ;  so  come  on,  gentlemen,  come  on,  and  right  glad 
we  are  to  see  you.  The  last  white  man  who  visited  us  was 
Alphonse — you  will  see  Alphonse  presently — and  that  was  a 
year  ago. 

Meanwhile  we  had  been  walking  up  the  slope  of  the  hill,  the 
lower  portion  of  which  was  fenced  off,  sometimes  with  quince 
fences,  and  sometimes  with  rough  stone  walls,  into  Kafhr 
gardens,  just  now  full  of  crops  of  mealies,  pumpkins,  potatoes, 
&c.  In  the  corners  of  these  gardens  were  groups  of  neat  mush- 
room-shaped huts,  occupied  by  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mission  natives, 
whose  women  and  children  came  pouring  out  to  meet  us  as  we 
walked.  Through  the  centre  of  the  gardens  ran  the  roadway  up 
which  we  were  walking.  It  was  bordered  on  each  side  by  a 
line  of  orange  trees,  which,  although  they  had  only  been  planted 
ten  years,  had  in  the  lovely  climate  of  the  uplands  below  Mt. 
Kenia,  the  base  of  which  is  about  5,000  feet  above  the  coast 
line  level,  already  grown  to  imposing  proportions,  and  were 
positively  laden  ^^ith  golden  fruit.  After  a  stiffish  chmb  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  so — for  the  hill-side  was  steep — we  came  to 
a  splendid  quince  fence,  also  covered  with  fruit,  which  enclosed, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  told  us,  a  space  of  about  four  acres  of  ground 
that  contained  his  private  garden,  house,  church,  and  out-build- 
ings, and,  indeed,  the  whole  hill-top.  And  what  a  garden  it 
was  !  I  have  always  loved  a  good  garden,  and  I  could  have 
thrown  up  my  hands  for  joy  when  I  saw  Mr.  Mackenzie's.  First 
there  were  rows  upon  rows  of  standard  European  fruit-trees,  all 
grafted  ;  for  on  the  top  of  this  hill  the  climate  was  so  temperate 
that  very  nearly  all  the  English  vegetables,  trees,  and  flowers 
flourished  luxuriantly,  even  including  several  varieties  of  the 
apple,  which,  generally  speaking,  runs  to  wood  in  a  warm  climate 
and  obstinately  declines  to  fruit.  Then  there  were  strawberries 
and  tomatoes  (such  tomatoes  !),  and  melons  and  cucumbers, 
and,  indeed,  every  sort  of  vegetable  and  fruit. 

'  Well,  you  have  something  like  a  garden  V  I  said,  overpowered 
with  admiration  not  untouched  by  envy. 

'  Yes,'  answered  the  missionar)',  *  it  is  a  very  good  garden  and 
has  weU  repaid  my  labour ;  but  it  is  the  climate  that  I  have  to 
thank.  If  you  stick  a  peach-stone  into  the  ground  it  will  bear 
fruit  the  fourth  year,  and  a  rose-cutting  will  bloom  in  a  year.  It 
is  a  lovely  cHme.' 


3^  Allan  Quaiermain, 

Just  then  we  came  to  a  ditch  about  ten  feet  wide,  and  full  of 
water,  on  the  other  side  of  which  was  a  loopholed  stone  wall 
eight  feet  high,  and  with  sharp  flints  plentifully  set  in  mortar  on 
the  coping. 

'There,*  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  pointing  to  the  ditch  and  wall, 
'  this  is  my  magnum  opus  ;  at  least,  this  and  the  church,  which  is 
the  other  side  of  the  house.  It  took  me  and  twenty  natives  two 
years  to  dig  the  ditch  and  build  the  wall,  but  I  never  felt  safe 
till  it  was  done;  and  now  I  can  defy  all  the  savages  in  Africa, 
for  the  spring  that  fills  the  ditch  is  inside  the  wall,  and  bubbles 
out  at  the  top  of  the  hill  winter  and  summer  alike,  and  I  always 
keep  a  store  of  four  months'  provisions  in  the  house.' 

Crossing  over  a  plank  and  through  a  very  narrow  opening  in 
the  wall,  we  entered  into  what  Mrs.  Mackenzie  called  her  domain 
— namely,  the  flower  garden,  the  beauty  of  which  it  is  really  be- 
yond my  power  to  describe.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  such 
roses,  gardenias,  or  camellias  (all  reared  from  seeds  or  cuttings 
sent  from  England) ;  and  there  was  also  a  patch  given  up  to  a 
collection  of  bulbous  roots  mostly  collected  by  Miss  Flossie, 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  little  daughter,  from  the  surrounding  country, 
some  of  which  were  surpassingly  beautiful.  In  the  middle  of 
this  garden,  and  exactly  opposite  the  verandah,  a  beautiful  foun- 
tain of  clear  water  bubbled  up  from  the  ground,  and  fell  into  a 
stone-work  basin  which  had  been  carefully  built  to  receive  it, 
whence  the  overflow  found  its  way  by  means  of  a  drain  to  the 
moat  round  the  outer  wall,  this  moat  in  its  turn  serving  as  a  re- 
servoir, whence  an  unfailing  supply  of  water  was  available  to  ir- 
rigate all  the  gardens  below.  The  house  itself,  a  massively 
built  single-storied  building,  was  roofed  with  slabs  of  stone,  and 
had  a  handsome  verandah  in  front.  It  was  built  on  three  sides 
of  a  square,  the  fourth  side  being  taken  up  by  the  kitchens, 
which  stood  separate  from  the  house — a  very  good  plan  in  a  hot 
country.  In  the  centre  of  this  square  thus  formed  was,  perhaps, 
the  most  remarkable  object  that  we  had  yet  seen  in  this  charm- 
ing place,  and  that  was  a  single  tree  of  the  conifer  tribe,  varieties 
of  which  freely  grow  on  the  highlands  of  this  part  of  Africa.  This 
splendid  tree,  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  informed  us  was  a  land- 
mark for  fifty  miles  round,  and  which  we  had  ourselves  seen  for  the 
last  forty  miles  of  our  journey,  must  have  been  nearly  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  the  trunk  measuring  about  sixteen  feet  in 
diameter  at  a  yard  from  the  ground.  For  about  seventy  feet  it 
rose  a  beautiful  tapering  brown  pillar  without  a  single  branch, 


The  Mission  Station,  39 

but  at  that  height  splendid  dark  green  boughs,  which,  looked  at 
from  below,  had  the  appearance  of  gigantic  fern-leaves,  sprang 
out  horizontally  from  the  trunk,  projecting  right  over  the  house 
and  flower-garden,  to  both  of  which  they  furnished  a  grateful 
proportion  of  shade,  without — being  so  high  up — oflfering  any 
impediment  to  the  passage  of  light  and  air. 

*  What  a  beautiful  tree  1 '  exclaimed  Sir  Henry. 

*  Yes,  you  are  right ;  it  is  a  beautiful  tree.  There  is  not 
another  hke  it  in  all  the  country  round,  that  I  know  of,'  answered 
Mr.  Mackenzie.  '  I  call  it  my  watch  tower.  As  you  see,  I 
have  a  rope  ladder  fixed  to  the  lowest  bough  ;  and  if  I  want  to 
see  anything  that  is  going  on  within  fifteen  miles  or  so,  all  I 
have  to  do  is  to  run  up  with  a  spyglass.  But  you  must  be 
hungry,  and  I  am  sure  the  dinner  is  cooked.  Come  in,  my 
friends  ;  it  is  but  a  rough  place,  but  well  enough  for  these  sav- 
age parts ;  and  I  can  tell  you  what,  we  have  got— a  French 
cook.'     And  he  led  the  way  on  to  the  verandah. 

As  I  was  following  him,  and  wondering  what  on  earth  he 
could  mean  by  this,  there  suddenly  appeared,  through  the  door 
that  opened  on  to  the  verandah  from  the  house,  a  dapper  little 
man,  dressed  in  a  neat  blue  cotton  suit,  and  shoes  made  of 
tanned  hide,  and  remarkable  for  a  bustling  air  and  most 
enormous  black  mustachios,  shaped  into  an  upward  curve, 
and  coming  to  a  point  for  all  the  world  hke  a  pair  of  buffalo- 
horns.  .  J       ,r 

'  Madame  bids  me  for  to  say  that  dmner  is  sarved.  Mes- 
sieurs, my  compliments  ; '  then  suddenly  perceiving  Umslopo- 
gaas,  who  was  loitering  along  after  us  and  playing  with  his  bat- 
tle-axe, he  threw  up  his  hands  in  astonishment.  'Ah,  mats  quel 
hommer  he  ejaculated  in  French,  'quel  sauvage  affreux I 
Take  but  note  of  his  huge  choppare  and  the  great  pit  in  his 

head.' 

'  Ay,'  said   Mr.  Mackenzie ;  '  what   are  you  talkmg  about, 

Alphonse  ? ' 

'  Talking  about ! '  replied  the  little  Frenchman,  his  eyes  still 
fixed  upon  Umslopogaas,  whose  general  appearance  seemed 
to  fascinate  him  ;  '  why  I  talk  of  him  '—and  he  rudely  pointed 
— '  of  ce  ?nonsteur  notrj 

At  this  everybody  began  to  laugh,  and  Umslopogaas,  per- 
ceiving that  he  was  the  object  of  remark,  frowned  ferociously, 
for  he  had  a  most  lordly  dislike  of  anything  like  a  personal 
liberty. 


40  Allan  Quatennain, 

*Parhleul^  said  Alphonse,  *he  is  angered — he  makes  the 
grimace.  I  like  not  his  air.  I  vanish.'  And  he  did  with  con- 
siderable rapidity. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  joined  heartily  in  the  shout  of  laughter  which 
we  indulged  in.  *  He  is  a  queer  character — Alphonse,'  he  said, 
*  By-and-by  I  will  tell  you  his  history  ;  in  the  meanwhile  let  us 
try  his  cooking.' 

*  Might  I  ask,'  said  Sir  Henry,  after  we  had  eaten  a  most  ex- 
cellent dinner,  *  how  you  came  to  have  a  French  cook  in  these 
wilds  ? ' 

*  Oh,'  answered  Mrs.  Mackenzie,  '  he  arrived  here  of  his  own 
accord  about  a  year  ago,  and  asked  to  be  taken  into  our  ser- 
vice. He  had  got  into  some  trouble  in  France,  and  fled  to 
Zanzibar,  where  he  found  an  application  had  been  made  by  the 
French  Government  for  his  extradition.  Whereupon  he  rushed 
oflf  up-country,  and  fell  in,  when  nearly  starved,  with  our  cara^ 
van  of  men,  who  were  bringing  us  our  annual  supply  of  goods, 
and  was  brought  on  here.  You  should  get  him  to  tell  you  the 
story.' 

When  dinner  was  over  we  lit  our  pipes,  and  Sir  Henry  pro- 
ceeded  to  give  our  host  a  description  of  our  journey  up  here, 
over  which  he  looked  very  grave. 

'  It  is  evident  to  me,'  he  said,  *  that  those  rascally  Masai  are 
following  you,  and  I  am  very  thankful  that  you  have  reached 
this  house  in  safety.  I  do  not  think  that  they  will  dare  to 
attack  you  here.  It  is  unfortunate,  though,  that  nearly  all  my 
men  have  gone  down  to  the  coast  with  ivory  and  goods.  There 
are  two  hundred  of  them  in  the  caravan,  and  the  consequence  is 
that  I  have  not  more  than  twenty  men  available  for  defensive 
purposes  in  case  they  should  attack  us.  But,  still,  I  will  just 
give  a  few  orders  ; '  and,  calling  a  black  man  who  was  loitering 
about  outside  in  the  garden,  he  went  to  the  window,  and  ad- 
dressed him  in  the  SwahiU  dialect  The  man  hstened,  and 
then  saluted  and  departed, 

'  I  am  sure  I  devoutly  hope  that  we  shall  bring  no  such 
calamity  upon  you,'  said  I,  anxiously,  when  he  had  taken  his 
seat  again.  *  Rather  than  bring  those  bloodthirsty  villains  about 
your  ears,  we  will  move  on  and  take  our  chance.* 

'  You  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort  If  the  Masai  come  they 
come,  and  there  is  an  end  on  it ;  and  I  think  we  can  give  them 
>  pretty  warm  greeting.  I  would  not  show  any  man  the  door 
for  all  the  Masai  in  the  world.' 


The  Mission  Station^  4 1 

*  That  reminds  me,'  I  said,  *  the  Consul  tt  Lamu  told  me 
he  had  had  a  letter  from  you,  in  which  you  said  that  a  man  had 
arrived  here  who  reported  that  he  had  come  across  a  white  peo- 
ple in  the  interior.  Do  you  think  that  there  was  any  truth  in 
his  story  ?  I  ask,  because  I  have  once  or  twice  in  my  life  heard 
rumours  from  natives  who  have  come  down  from  the  far  north 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  race. 

Mr.  Mackenzie,  by  way  of  answer,  went  out  of  the  room  and 
returned,  bringing  with  him  a  most  curious  sword.  It  was  long, 
and  all  the  blade,  which  was  very  thick  and  heav>',  was  to  within 
a  quarter  af  an  inch  of  the  cutting  edge  worked  into  an  orna- 
mental pattern  exactly  as  we  work  soft  wood  with  a  fret-saw,  the 
steel,  however,  being  invariably  pierced  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  strength  of  the  sword.  This  in  itself  was 
sufficiently  curious,  but  what  was  still  more  so  was  that  all  the 
edges  of  the  hollow  spaces  cut  through  the  substance  of  the  blade 
were  most  beautifully  inlaid  with  gold,  which  was  in  some  way 
that  I  cannot  understand  welded  on  to  the  steel.* 

*  There,'  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  *  did  you  ever  see  a  sword  like 
that?' 

We  all  examined  it  and  shook  our  heads. 

*  Well,  I  have  got  it  to  show  you,  because  this  is  what  the  man 
who  said  he  had  seen  the  white  people  brought  with  him,  and 
because  it  does  more  or  less  give  an  air  of  truth  to  what  I 
should  otherwise  have  set  down  as  a  lie.  Look  here ;  I  will  tell 
you  all  I  know  about  the  matter,  which  is  not  much.  One 
afternoon,  just  before  sunset,  I  was  sitting  on  the  verandah, 
when  a  poor,  miserable,  starved-looking  man  came  limping  up 
and  squatted  down  before  me.  I  asked  him  where  he  came 
from  and  what  he  wanted,  and  thereon  he  plunged  into  a  long 
rambling  narrative  about  how  he  belonged  to  a  tribe  far  in  the 
north,  and  how  his  tribe  was  destroyed  by  another  tribe,  and  he 
with  a  few  other  survivors  driven  still  further  north  past  a  lake 
called  Laga.  Thence,  it  appears,  he  made  his  way  to  another 
lake  that  lay  up  in  the  mountains,  "  a  lake  without  a  bottom  " 
he  called  it,  and  here  his  wife  and  brother  died  of  an  infectious 
sickness — probably  smallpox — whereon  the  people  drove  him 

*  Since  I  saw  the  above  I  have  examined  hundreds  of  these  swords,  but  hav« 
never  been  able  to  discover  how  the  gold  plates  were  inlaid  in  the  fretwork. 
The  armourers  who  make  them  in  Zu-vendis  bind  themselves  by  oath  not  to  »- 
veal  the  secret — A.  Q. 


42  Allan  Quatermairu 

out  of  their  villages  into  the  wilderness,  where  he  wandered 
miserably  over  mountains  for  ten  days,  a^er  which  he  got  into 
dense  thorn  forest,  and  was  one  day  found  there  by  some  white 
men  who  were  hunting,  and  who  took  him  to  a  place  where  all 
the  people  were  white,  and  lived  in  stone  houses.  Here  he 
remained  a  week  shut  up  in  a  house,  till  one  night  a  man  with 
a  white  beard,  whom  he  understood  to  be  a  "  medicine  man," 
came  and  inspected  him,  after  which  he  was  led  ofif  and  taken 
through  the  thorn  forest  to  the  confines  of  the  wilderness,  and 
given  food  and  this  sword  (at  least  so  he  said),  and  turned 
loose.' 

'Well,' said  Sir  Henry,  who  had  been  listening  with  breath- 
less interest,  *  and  what  did  he  do  then  ? ' 

*  Oh  !  he  seems,  according  to  his  account,  to  have  gone 
through  sufferings  and  hardships  innumerable,  and  to  have  lived 
for  weeks  on  roots,  and  berries,  and  such  things  as  he  could 
catch  and  kill.  But  somehow  he  did  live,  and  at  last  by  slow 
degrees  made  his  way  south  and  reached  this  place.  What  the 
details  of  his  journey  were  I  never  learnt,  for  I  told  him  to  re- 
turn on  the  morrow,  bidding  one  of  my  headmen  look  after 
him  for  the  night.  The  headman  took  him  away,  but  the  poor 
man  had  the  itch  so  badly  that  the  headman's  ^vife  would  not 
have  him  in  the  hut  for  fear  of  catching  it,  so  he  was  given 
a  blanket  and  told  to  sleep  outside.  As  it  happened,  we  had 
a  lion  hanging  about  here  just  then,  and  most  unhappily  he 
winded  this  unfortunate  wanderer,  and,  springing  on  him,  bit  his 
head  almost  off  without  the  people  in  the  hut  knowing  anything 
about  it,  and  there  was  an  end  of  him  and  his  story  about  the 
white  people ;  and  whether  or  no  there  is  any  truth  in  it  is  more 
than  I  can  tell  you.     What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Quatermain  ?  ' 

I  shock  my  head,  and  answered,  '  I  don't  know.  There  are 
so  many  queer  things  hidden  away  in  the  heart  of  this  great 
continent  that  I  should  be  sorry  to  assert  that  there  was  no 
truth  in  it.  Anyhow,  we  mean  to  try  and  find  out  We  intend 
to  journey  to  Lekakisera,  and  thence,  if  wc  live  to  get  so  far,  to 
this  Lake  I^a  ;  and,  if  there  are  any  white  people  beyond,  we 
will  do  our  best  to  find  them.' 

'  You  are  very  venturesome  people,'  said  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
with  a  smile,  and  the  subject  dropped 


Alp/wfise  Uiul  tu^  Annetti^  43 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ALPHONSE  AND    HIS   ANNETTE, 

After  dinner  we  thoroughly  inspected  all  the  outbuildings  and 
grounds  of  the  station,  which  I  consider  the  most  successful  as 
well  as  the  most  beautiful  place  of  the  sort  that  I  have  seen  in 
Africa,  We  then  returned  to  the  verandah,  where  we  found 
Umslopogaas  taking  advantage  of  this  favourable  opportunity 
to  clean  thoroughly  all  the  rifles.  This  was  the  only  work  that 
he  ever  did  or  was  asked  to  do,  for  as  a  Zulu  chief  it  was  be- 
neath his  dignity  to  work  with  his  hands  ;  but  such  as  it  was  he 
did  it  very  well.  It  was  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  great  Zulu 
sitting  there  upon  the  floor,  his  battle-axe  resting  against  the 
wall  behind  him,  whilst  his  long  aristocraiic-looking  hands  were 
busily  employed,  delicately  and  v.-iih  tfie  uimost  care,  cleaning 
the  mechanism  of  the  breechloaders.  He  had  a  name  for  each 
gun.  One — a  double  four-bore  belonging  to  Sir  Henry — was 
the  Thunderer ;  another,  my  500  Express,  which  had  a  peculi- 
arly sharp  report,  was  'the  little  one  who  spoke  hke  a  whip;' 
the  Winchester  repeaters  were  *  the  women,  who  talked  so  fast 
that  you  could  not  tell  one  word  from  another ; '  the  six  Mar- 
tinis were  *  the  common  people ; '  and  so  on  with  them  alL  It 
was  very  curious  to  hear  him  addressing  each  gun  as  he  cleaned 
it,  as  though  it  were  an  individual,  and  in  a  vein  of  the  quaint- 
est humour.  He  did  the  same  with  his  battle-axe,  which  he 
seemed  to  look  upon  as  an  intimate  friend,  and  to  which  he 
would  at  times  talk  by  the  hour,  going  over  all  his  old  adven- 
tures with  it — and  dreadful  enough  some  of  them  were.  By  a 
piece  of  grim  humour,  he  had  named  this  axe  '  Inkosi-kaas,' 
which  is  the  Zulu  word  for  chieftainess.  For  a  long  while  I 
could  not  make  out  why  he  gave  it  such  a  name,  and  at  last  I 
asked  him,  when  he  informed  me  that  the  axe  was  evidently 
feminine,  because  of  her  womanly  habit  of  prying  very  deep 
into  things,  and  that  she  was  clearly  a  chieftainess  because  all 
men  fell  down  before  her,  struck  dumb  at  the  sight  of  her  beauty 
and  power.  In  the  same  way  he  would  consult  '  Inkosi-kaas  ' 
if  in  any  dilemma ;  and  when  I  asked  him  why  he  did  so,  he 


44  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

informed  me  it  was  because  she  must  needs  be  wise,  having 
'  looked  into  so  many  people's  brains.' 

I  took  up  the  axe  and  closely  examined  this  formidable 
weapon.  It  was,  as  I  have  said,  of  the  nature  of  a  pole-axe. 
The  haft,  made  out  of  an  enormous  rhinoceros  horn,  was  three 
feet  three  inches  long,  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick,  and 
with  a  knob  at  the  end  as  large  as  a  Maltese  orange,  left  there 
to  prevent  the  hand  from  slipping.  This  horn  haft,  though  so 
massive,  was  as  flexible  as  cane,  and  practically  unbreakable  ; 
but,  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  it  was  whipped  round  at 
intervals  of  a  few  inches  with  copper-wire — all  the  parts  where 
the  hands  grip  being  thus  treated.  Just  above  where  the  haft 
entered  the  head  were  scored  a  number  of  little  nicks,  each 
nick  representing  a  man  killed  in  battle  with  the  weapon.  The 
axe  itself  was  made  of  the  most  beautiful  steel,  and  apparently 
of  European  manufacture,  though  Umslopogaas  did  not  know 
where  it  came  from,  having  taken  it  from  the  hand  of  a  chief 
he  had  killed  in  battle  many  years  before.  It  was  not  very 
heavy,  the  head  weighing  two  and  a  half  pounds,  as  nearly  as 
I  could  judge.  The  cutting  part  was  shghtly  concave  in  shape 
— not  convex,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  savage  batde-axes — 
and  sharp  as  a  razor,  measuring  five  and  three-quarter  inches 
across  the  widest  part.  From  the  back  of  the  axe  sprang  a 
stout  spike  four  inches  long,  for  the  last  two  of  which  it  was 
hollow,  and  shaped  like  a  leather  punch,  with  an  opening  for 
anything  forced  into  the  hollow  at  the  punch  end  to  be  pushed 
out  at)ove— in  fact,  in  this  respect  it  exactly  resembled  a 
butcher's  pole-axe.  It  was  with  this  punch  end,  as  we  after- 
wards discovered,  that  Umslopogaas  usually  struck  when  fight- 
ing, driving  a  neat  round  hole  in  his  adversary's  skull,  and 
only  using  the  broad  cutting  edge  for  a  circular  sweep,  or 
sometimes  in  a  me/^e.  I  think  he  considered  the  punch  a  neater 
and  more  sportsmanlike  tool,  and  it  was  from  his  habit  of  peck- 
ing at  his  enemy  with  it  that  he  got  his  name  of  *  Woodpecker.' 
Certainly  in  his  hands  it  was  a  terribly  efficient  one. 

Such  was  Umslopogaas'  axe,  Inkosi-kaas,  the  most  remark- 
able and  fatal  hand-to-hand  weapon  that  I  ever  saw,  and  one 
which  he  cherished  as  much  as  his  own  life.  It  scarcely  ever 
left  his  hand  except  when  he  was  eating,  and  then  he  always 
sat  with  it  under  his  leg. 

Just  as  I  returned  his  axe  to  Umslopogaas  Miss  Flossie  came 
up  and  took  me  off  to  see  her  collection  of  flowers,  African  lil- 


AlphoTise  and  his  A  nnette,  4  ? 

iums,  and  blooming  shrubs,  some  of  which  are  very  beautiful, 
many  of  the  varieties  being  quite  unknown  to  me,  and  also,  I 
believe,  to  botanical  science,     I  asked  her  if  she  had  ever  seen 
or  heard  of  the  '  Goya '  lily,  which  central  African  explorers 
have  told  me  they  have  occasionally  met  with,  and  whose  won> 
derful  loveliness  has  filled  them  with  astonishment.     This  lily, 
which  the  natives  say  blooms  only  once  in  ten  years,  flourishes 
in  the  most  arid  soil.     Compared  to  the  size  of  the  bloom,  the 
bulb  is  small,  generally  weighing  about  four  pounds.     As  for 
the  flower  itself  (which  I  afterwards  first   saw  under  circum- 
stances likely  to  impress  its  appearance  fixedly  in  my  mind), 
I  know  not  how  to  describe  its  beauty  and  splendour,  or  the 
indescribable  sweetness  of  its  perfume.    The  flower — for  it  only 
has  one  bloom — rises  from  the  crown  of  the  bulb  on  a  thick 
fleshy  and  flat-sided  stem,  and  the  specimen  that  I  saw  meas- 
ured fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  somewhat  trumpet- 
shaped  like  the  bloom  of  an  ordinary  *  longiflorum  '  set  verti- 
cally.    First  there  is  the  green  sheath,  which  in  its  early  stage 
is  not  unlike  that  of  a  water-lily,  but  which  as  the  bloom  opens 
splits  into  four  portions  and  curls  back  gracefully  towards  the 
stem.     Then  comes  the  bloom  itself,  a  single  dazzling  arch  of 
white  enclosing  another  cup  of  richest  velvety  crimson,  from  the 
heart  of  which  rises  a  golden-coloured  pistil.     I  have  never 
seen  anything  to  equal  this  bloom  in  beauty  or  fragrance,  and 
as  I  believe  it  is  but  little  known,  I  take  the  liberty  to  describe 
it  at  length.     Looking  at  it  for  the  first  time  I  well  remember 
that  I  reaHsed  how  even  in  a  flower  there  dwells  something  of 
the  majesty  of  its  Maker.     To  my  great  dehght  Miss  Flossie 
told  me  that  she  knew  the  flower  well  and  had  tried  to  grow  it 
in  her  garden  but  without  success,  adding,  however,  that  as  it 
should  be  in  bloom  at  this  time  of  year  she  thought  that  she 
could  procure  me  a  specimen. 

After  that  I  fell  to  asking  her  if  she  was  not  lonely  up  here 
among  all  these  savage  people  and  without  any  companions  of 
her  own  age. 

'  Lonely  ? '  she  said.  *  Oh,  indeed  no  !  I  am  as  happy  as 
the  day  is  long,  and  besides  I  have  my  own  companions.  Why, 
I  should  hate  to  be  buried  in  a  crowd  of  white  girls  all  just  like 
myself  so  that  nobody  could  tell  the  difference  I  Here,'  she 
said,  giving  her  head  a  little  toss,  *  I  am  /;  and  every  native 
for  miles  round  knows  the  "Wateriily," — for  that  is  what 
they  call  me — and  is  ready  to  do  what  I   want,   but  in  the 


4^  Allan  Quatermain. 

books  that  I  have  read  about  little  girls  in  England,  it  is  not 
like  that.  Everybody  thinks  them  a  trouble,  and  they  have  to 
do  what  their  schoolmistress  likes.  Oh !  it  would  break  my 
heart  to  be  put  in  a  cage  Hke  that  and  not  to  be  free — free 
as  the  air.' 

*  Would  you  not  like  to  learn  ? '  I  asked. 

'  So  I  do  learn.  Father  teaches  me  Latin  and  French  and 
arithmetic' 

'  And  are  you  never  afraid  among  all  these  wild  men  ?  ' 

*  Afraid?  Oh  no!  they  never  interfere  with  me.  I  think 
they  believe  that  I  am  "  Ngai  "  (of  the  Divinity)  because  I  am 
so  white  and  have  fair  hair.  And  look  here,'  and  diving  her 
httlehand  into  the  bodice  of  her  dress  she  produced  a  double-bar- 
relled nickel-plated  Derringer,  *  I  always  carry  that  loaded,  and 
if  anybody  tried  to  touch  me  I  should  shoot  him.  Once  I  shot 
a  leopard  that  jumped  upon  my  donkey  as  I  was  riding  along. 
It  frightened  me  very  much,  but  I  shot  it  in  the  ear,  and  it  fell 
dead,  and  I  have  its  skin  upon  my  bed.  Look  there ! '  she 
went  on  in  an  altered  voice,  touching  me  on  the  arm  and  point- 
ing to  some  far-away  object,  '  I  said  just  now  that  I  had  com- 
panions ;  there  is  one  of  them.' 

I  looked,  and  for  the  first  time  there  burst  upon  my  sight  the 
glor>'  of  Mount  Kenia.  Hitherto  the  mountain  had  always 
been  hidden  in  mist,  but  now  its  radiant  beauty  was  unveiled 
for  many  thousand  feet,  although  the  base  was  still  wrapped  in 
vapour  so  that  the  lofty  peak  or  pillar,  towering  nearly  twenty 
thousand  feet  into  the  sky,  appeared  to  be  a  fairy  vision,  hang- 
ing between  earth  and  heaven,  and  based  upon  the  clouds. 
The  solemn  majesty  and  beauty  of  this  white  peak  are  together 
beyond  the  power  of  my  poor  pen  to  describe.  There  it  rose 
straight  and  sheer — a  glittering  white  glory,  its  crest  piercing 
the  very  blue  of  heaven.  As  I  gazed  at  it  with  that  little  girl 
I  felt  my  whole  heart  lifted  up  with  an  indescribable  emotion, 
and  for  a  moment  great  and  wonderful  thoughts  seemed  to 
break  upon  my  mind,  even  as  the  arrows  of  the  setting  sun 
were  breaking  on  Kenia's  snows.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  natives  call 
the  mountain  the  '  Finger  of  God,'  and  to  me  it  did  seem 
eloquent  of  immortal  peace  and  of  the  pure  high  calm  that 
surely  lies  above  this  fevered  world.  Somewhere  I  had  heard 
a  line  of  poetry, 

A  thinf  of  brautjr  U  a  joy  fonrrw, 


Alphonse  and  his  Annette.  47 

and  now  it  came  into  my  mind,  and  for  the  first  time  1  ihor- 

oughly  understood  what  the  poet  meant.  Base  indeed  would 
be  the  man  who  could  look  upon  that  mighty  snow-wreathed 
pile — ^that  white  old  tombstone  of  the  years,  and  not  feel  his 
own  utter  insignificance,  and  by  whatsoever  name  he  calls 
Him,  worship  God  in  his  heart.  Such  sights  are  like  visions  of 
the  spirit ;  they  throw  wide  the  windows  of  the  chamber  of  our 
small  selfishness  and  let  in  a  breath  of  that  air  that  rushes 
round  the  rolling  sphere,  and  for  a  while  illumine  our  dark- 
ness with  a  far-off  gleam  of  the  white  light  which  beats  upon  the 
Throne. 

Yes,  such  things  of  beauty  are  indeed  a  joy  for  ever,  and  I 
can  well  understand  what  little  Flossie  meant  when  she  talked 
of  Kenia  as  her  companion.  As  Umslopogaas,  savage  old 
Zulu  as  he  was,  said  when  I  pointed  out  to  him  the  peak 
hanging  in  the  glittering  air :  'A  man  might  look  thereon 
for  a  thousand  years  and  yet  be  hungry  to  see.'  But  he  gave 
rather  another  colour  to  his  poetical  idea  when  he  added  in 
a  sort  of  chant,  and  with  a  touch  of  that  weird  imagination  for 
which  the  man  was  remarkable,  that  when  he  was  dead  he 
should  like  his  spirit  to  sit  upon  that  snow-clad  peak  for  ever, 
and  to  rush  down  the  steep  white  sides  in  the  breath  of  the 
whirlwind,  or  on  the  flash  of  the  Hghtning,  and  *  slay,  and  slay, 
and  slay.' 

*  Slay  what,  you  old  bloodhound  ?  *  I  asked. 

This  rather  puzzled  him,  but  at  length  he  answered — 

*  The  other  shadows.' 

*  So  thou  wouldst  continue  thy  murdering  even  after  death  ? ' 
I  said. 

*  I  murder  not,'  he  answered  hotly  ;  *I  kill  in  fair  fight  Man 
is  born  to  kill.  He  who  kills  not  when  his  blood  is  hot  is  a 
woman,  and  no  man.  The  people  who  kill  not  are  slaves.  I 
say  I  kill  in  fair  fight  ;  and  when  I  am  "  in  the  shadow,"  as 
you  white  ii\en  say,  I  hope  to  go  on  killing  in  fair  fight.  May 
my  shadow  be  accursed  and  chilled  to  the  bone  for  ever  if 
it  should  fall  to  murdering  like  a  bushman  with  his  poisoned 
arrows  ! '  And  he  stalked  away  with  much  dignity,  and  left  me 
laughing. 

Just  then  the  spies  whom  our  host  had  sent  out  in  the  morn- 
ing to  find  out  if  there  were  any  traces  of  our  Masai  fiienda 
about,  returned,  and  reported  that  the  country  had  been  scour- 
ed for  fifteen  miles  around  without  a  single  Elmoran  being  seen, 


4^  Allan  O.natermain. 

and  chat  they  believed  that  those  gentry  had  given  up  the  pur- 
suit and  returned  whence  they  came.  Mr.  Mackenzie  gave  a 
sigh  of  rehef  wuen  he  heard  this,  and  so  indeed  did  we,  for  we 
had  had  quite  enough  of  the  Masai  to  last  us  for  some  time. 
Indeed,  the  general  opinion  was  that,  finding  we  had  reached 
the  mission  station  in  safety,  they  had,  knowing  its  strength, 
given  up  the  pursuit  of  us  as  a  bad  job.  How  ill-judged  that 
view  was  the  sequel  will  show. 

After  the  spies  had  gone,  and  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and  Flossie 
had  retired  for  the  night,  Alphonse,  the  little  Frenchman,  came 
out,  and  Sir  Henry,  who  is  a  very  good  French  scholar,  got  him 
to  tell  us  how  he  came  to  visit  Central  Africa,  which  he  did  in 
a  most  extraordinary  lingo,  that  for  the  most  part  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  reproduce, 

*  My  grandfather,'  he  began,  *  was  a  soldier  of  the  Guard, 
and  served  under  Napoleon.  He  was  Im  the  retreat  from 
Moscow,  and  lived  for  ten  days  on  his  own  leggings  and  a 
pair  he  stole  from  a  comrade.  He  used  to  get  drunk — he  died 
drunk,  and  I  remember  playing  at  drums  on  his  coffin.  My 
father ' 

Here  we  suggested  that  he  might  skip  his  ancestry  and  come 
to  the  point 

*  Bien,  messieurs  ! '  replied  this  comical  httle  man,  with  a 
polite  bow.  '  I  did  only  wish  to  demonstrate  that  the  military 
principle  is  not  hereditary.  My  grandfather  was  a  splendid  man, 
six  feet  two  high,  broad  in  proportion,  a  swallower  of  fire  and 
gaiters.  Also  he  was  remarkable  for  his  moustache.  To  me 
there  remains  the  moustache,  and — nothing  more. 

*  I  am,  messieurs,  a  cook,  and  I  was  born  at  Marseilles.  In 
that  dear  town  I  spent  my  happy  youth.  For  years  and  years 
I  washed  the  dishes  at  the  H6tel  Continental  Ah,  those  were 
golden  days  ! '  and  he  sighed.  '  I  am  a  Frenchman.  Need  I 
say,  messieurs,  that  I  admire  beauty  ?  Nay,  I  adore  the  fair. 
Messieurs,  we  admire  all  the  roses  in  a  garden,  but  we  pluck 
one.  /plucked  one,  and  alas,  messieurs,  it  pricked  my  finger. 
She  was  a  chambermaid,  her  name  Annette,  her  figure  ravish- 
ing, her  face  an  angel's,  her  heart — alas,  messieurs,  that  I  should 
have  to  own  it ! — black  and  slippery  as  a  patent  leather  boot. 
I  loved  to  desperation,  I  adored  her  to  despair.  She  trans- 
ported me — in  every  sense  ;  she  inspired  me.  Never  have  I 
cooked  as  I  cooked  (for  I  had  been  promoted  at  the  hotel) 
when  Annette,  my  adored  Annette,  smiled  on  me.     Never  ' 


A»phonse  and  his  Aftneite,  49 

and  here  his  manly  voice  broke  into  a  sob — '  never  shall  I  cock 
*o  well  again/     Here  he  melted  into  tears. 

'  Come,  cheer  up  ! '  said  Sir  Henry,  in  French,  smacking  him 
smartly  on  the  back.  '  There's  no  knowing  what  may  happen, 
you  know.  To  judge  from  your  dinner  to-day,  I  should  say  you 
were  in  a  fair  way  to  recovery.' 

Alphonse  stopped  weeping,  and  began  to  rub  his  back. 

*  Monsieur,'  he  said,  '  doubtless  means  to  console,  but  his 
hand  is  hea\7.  To  continue :  we  loved,  and  were  happy  in 
each  other's  love.  The  birds  in  their  little  nest  could  not  be 
happier  than  Alphonse  and  his  Annette.  Then  came  the  blow 
— sapristi ! — when  I  think  of  it.  Messieurs  will  forgive  me  if  I 
wipe  away  a  tear.  Mine  was  an  e%dl  number  ;  I  was  drawn  for 
the  conscription.  Fortune  would  be  avenged  on  me  for  ha\ing 
won  the  heart  of  Annette. 

*  The  evil  moment  came  ;  I  had  to  go.  I  tried  to  run  away, 
but  I  was  caught  by  brutal  soldiers,  and  they  banged  me  with 
the  butt-end  of  muskets  till  my  mustachios  curled  with  pain. 
I  had  a  cousin,  a  hnendraper,  well  to  do,  but  very  ugly.  He  had 
drawn  a  good  number,  and  sympathised  when  they  thumped 
me.  "  To  thee,  my  cousin,"  I  said,  "  to  thee,  in  whose  vems 
flows  the  blood  of  our  heroic  grandparent,  to  thee  I  consign 
Annette.  Watch  over  her  whilst  I  hunt  for  glory  in  the  bloody 
field." 

'  "  Make  your  mind  easy,"  said  he ;  "I  will"  As  the  sequel 
shows,  he  did. 

'  I  went.  I  lived  in  barracks  on  black  soup.  I  am  a  refined 
man  and  a  poet  by  nature,  and  I  suffered  torture  from  the  coarse 
horror  of  my  surroundings.  There  was  a  drill  sergeant,  and  he 
had  a  cane.  Ah,  that  cane,  how  it  curled  !  Alas,  never  can  I 
forget  it, 

*  One  morning  came  the  news  ;  my  battalion  was  ordered  to 
Tonquin.  The  drill  sergeant  and  the  other  coarse  monsters  re- 
joiced. I — I  made  inquiries  about  Tonquin.  They  were  not 
satisfactory.  In  Tonquin  are  savage  Chinese  who  rip  you  open. 
My  artistic  tastes — for  I  am  also  an  artist — recoiled  from  tiie 
idea  of  being  ripped  open.  The  great  man  makes  up  his  mmd 
quickly.  I  made  up  my  mind.  I  determined  not  to  be  ripped 
open.     I  deserted. 

'  I  reached  Marseilles  disguised  as  an  old  man.  I  went  to 
the  house  of  my  cousin — he  in  whom  runs  my  grandfather  s 
heroic  blood — and  there  sat  Annette.     It  was  the  season  of 

4 


50  Allan  Quatermain. 

cherries.     They  took  a  double  stalk.     At  each  end  was  a  cherry. 
My  cousin  put  one  into  his  mouth,  Annette  put  the  other  in 
hers.      Then  they  drew  the  stalks  in  till  their  lips  met — and 
alas,  alas  that  I  should  have  to  say  it ! — they  kissed.     The  game 
was  a  pretty  one,  but  it  filled  me  with  fury.     The  heroic  blood  of 
my  grandfather  boiled  up  in  me.     I  rushed  into  the  kitchen.    I 
struck  my  cousin  with  the  old  man's  crutch.     He  fell,  I  had 
slain  him.  Alas  I  believe  that  I  did  slay  him.  Annette  screamed. 
The  gendarmes  came.     I  fled.     I  reached  the  harbour.     I  hid 
aboard  a  vessel.     The  vessel  put  to  sea.     The  captain  found 
me  and  beat  me.     He  took  an  opportunity.     He  posted  a  let- 
ter from  a  foreign  port  to  the  public.     He  did  not  put  me  ashore 
because  I  cooked  so  well.     I   cooked   for  him  all  the  way  to 
Zanzibar.     When    I  asked   for  payment  he  kicked  me.     The 
blood  of  my  heroic  grandfather  boiled  within  me,  and  I  shook  my 
fist  in  his  face  and  vowed  to  have  my  revenge.     He  kicked  me 
again.     At  Zanzibar  there  was  a  telegram.     I  cursed  the  man 
who  invented  telegraphs.     Now  I  curse  him  again.     I  was  to 
be  arrested  for  desertion,  for  murder,  and  que  sais-je.     I  escaped 
from  the  prison.     I  fled,  I  starved.     I  met  the  men  of  Monsieur 
le  Cur6.     They  brought  me  here.     I  am  here  full  of  woe.    But 
I  return  not  to  France.     Better  to  risk  my  life  in  these  horrible 
places  than  to  know  the  Bagne.* 

He  paused,  and  we  nearly  choked  with  laughter,  having  to 
turn  cur  faces  away. 

'  Ah  1  you  weep,  messieurs,*  he  said.  '  No  wonder — it  is  a 
sad  story.' 

'  Perhaps,'  said  Sir  Henry,  '  the  heroic  blood  of  your  grand- 
parent will  triumph  after  all ;  perhaps  you  will  still  be  great. 
At  any  rate  we  shall  see.  And  now  I  vote  we  go  to  bed.  I 
am  dead  tired,  and  we  had  not  much  sleep  on  that  confounded 
rock  last  night.' 

And  so  we  did,  and  ver)'  strange  the  tidy  rooms  and  clean 
white  sheets  seemed  to  us  after  our  recent  experiences. 


Umslopogaas  makes  a  Promise,  %\ 


CHAPTER  V. 

UMSLOPOGAAS    MAKES   A   PROMISE, 

Next  morning  at  breakfast  I  missed  Flossie  and  asked  where 
slie  was. 

'  Well,'  said  her  mother,  '  when  I  got  up  this  morning  I  found 

a  note  put  outside  my  door  in  which But,  here  it  is,  you 

can  read  it  for  yourself,'  and  she  gave  me  the  slip  of  paper  on 
which  the  following  was  written  : — 

*  Dearest  M , — It  is  just  dawn,  and  I  am  off  to  the  hills 

to  get  Mr.  Q a  bloom  of  the  lily  he  wants,  so  don't  expect 

me  till  you  see  me.  I  have  taken  the  white  donkey  ;  and  nurse 
and  a  couple  of  boys  are  coming  \vith  me — also  something  to 
eat,  as  I  may  be  away  all  day,  for  I  am  determined  to  get  the 
Hly  if  I  have  to  go  twenty  miles  for  it — Flossie.' 

'  I  hope  she  will  be  all  right,'  I  said,  a  little  anxiously ;  '  I 
never  meant  her  to  trouble  after  the  flower.' 

'  Ah,  Flossie  can  look  after  herself,'  said  her  mother ;  '  she 
often  goes  off  in  this  way  like  a  true  child  of  the  wilderness.' 
But  Mr.  ^Mackenzie,  who  came  in  just  then  and  saw  the 
note  for  the  first  time,  looked  rather  grave  though  he  said 
nothing. 

After  breakfast  was  over  I  took  him  aside  and  asked  him 
if  it  would  not  be  possible  to  send  after  the  girl  and  get  her 
back,  having  in  view  the  possibihty  of  there  still  being  some 
Masai  hanging  about,  at  whose  hands  she  might  come  to 
harm. 

*  I  fear  it  would  be  of  no  use,'  he  answered.  '  She  may  be 
fifteen  miles  off  by  now,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  path 
she  has  taken.  There  are  the  hills  ;'  and  he  pointed  to  a 
long  range  of  rising  ground  stretching  almost  parallel  with 
the  course  followed  by  the  river  Tana,  but  gradually  sloping 
down  to  a  dense  bush-clad  plain  about  five  miles  short  of  the 
house. 

Here  I  suggested  that  we  might  get  up  the  great  tree  over  the 
bouse  and  search  the  country  round  with  a  spyglass ;  and  this, 


54  Allan  Quatermain. 

after  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  given  some  orders  to  his  people  to  try 
and  follow  Flossie's  spoor,  we  did. 

The  ascent  of  the  mighty  tree  was  rather  a  jumpy  performance, 
even  with  a  sound  rope  ladder  fixed  at  both  ends  to  climb  up, 
at  least  to  a  landsman  ;  but  Good  came  up  like  a  lamplighter. 

On  reaching  the  height  at  which  the  first  fern-shaped  boughs 
sprang  from  the  bole,  we  stepped  without  any  difficulty  upon  a 
plattorm  made  of  boards,  nailed  from  one  bough  to  another,  and 
large  enough  to  accommodate  a  dozen  people.  As  for  the  view, 
it  way  simply  glorious.  In  ever}'  direction  the  bush  rolled  away 
in  great  billows  for  miles  and  miles,  as  far  as  the  glass  would 
show,  only  here  and  there  broken  by  the  brighter  green  of  patches 
of  cultivation,  or  by  the  glittering  surfaces  of  lakes.  To  the 
north-west,  Kenia  reared  his  mighty  head,  and  we  could  trace  the 
Tana  River  curling  like  a  silver  snake  almost  from  his  feet,  and 
far  away  beyond  us  towards  the  ocean.  It  is  a  glorious  country, 
and  only  wants  the  hand  of  civilised  man  to  make  it  a  most  pro- 
ductive one. 

But  look  as  we  would,  we  could  see  no  signs  of  Flossie  and 
her  donkey,  so  at  last  had  to  come  down  disappointed.  On 
reaching  the  verandah  I  found  Umslopogaas  sitting  there,  slowly 
and  lightly  sharpening  his  axe  with  a  small  whetstone  he  always 
carried  with  him. 

'  What  doest  thou,  Umslopogaas  ? '  I  asked. 
'  I  smell  blood,'  was  the  answer ;  and  I  could  get  no  more  out 
of  him. 

After  dinner  we  again  went  up  the  tree  and  searched  the  sur- 
rounding country  with  a  spyglass  but  without  result.  When  we 
came  down  Umslopogaas  was  still  sharpening  Inkosi-kass,  al- 
though she  already  had  an  edge  like  a  razor.  Standing  in  front 
of  him  and  regarding  him  with  a  mixture  of  fear  and  fascination, 
was  Alphonse.  And  certainly  he  did  seem  an  alarming  object 
— sitting  there  Zulu  fashion,  on  his  haunches,  a  wild  look  upon 
his  intensely  savage  and  yet  intellectual  face,  sharpening,  shar- 
pening, sharpening  at  the  murderous-looking  axe. 

'  Oh,  the  monster,  the  horrible  man  ! '  said  the  little  French 
cook,  lifting  his  hands  in  amazement.  '  See  but  the  hole  in 
his  head  ;  the  skin  beats  on  it  up  and  down  like  a  baby's  !  Who 
would  nurse  such  a  baby  ? '  and  he  burst  out  laughing  at  the 
idea. 

For  a  moment  Umslopogaas  looked  up  from  his  sharpening, 
and  a  sort  of  evil  light  played  in  his  dark  eyes. 


Umslopogaas  makes  a  Promise.  53 

•  ^^'hat  does  the  little  "  buffalo-heifer  "  [so  named  by  Umslo 
pogaas,  on  account  of  his  mustachios  and  feminine  charactciis^ 
tics]  say  ?  Let  him  be  careful,  or  I  will  cut  his  horns.  Beware^ 
little  man  monkey,  beware  ! ' 

Unfortunately  Alphonse,  who  was  getting  over  his  fear  of  him, 
went  on  laughing  at  '■  ce  drole  d'un  momitur  nvir.'  I  was  about 
to  warn  him  to  desist,  when  suddenly  the  huge  Zulu  bounded 
off  the  verandah  on  to  the  open  space  where  Alphonse  was 
standing,  his  features  alive  with  a  sort  of  malicious  enthusiasm, 
and  began  swinging  the  axe  round  and  round  over  the  French- 
man's head. 

'  Stand  still,'  I  shouted  ;  '  do  not  move  as  you  value  your  life 
— he  will  not  hurt  you  ;  '  but  I  doubt  il  Alphonse  heard  me,  be- 
ing, fortunately  for  himself,  almost  petrified  with  horror. 

Then  followed  the  most  extraordinary  display  of  sword,  or 
rather  of  axemanship,  that  I  ever  saw.  First  of  all  the  axe  went 
flying  round  and  round  over  the  top  of  Alphonse's  head,  with 
an  angT}'  whirl  and  such  extraordinary  swiltness  that  it  looked 
like  a  continuous  band  of  steel,  ever  getting  nearer  and  yet 
nearer  to  that  unhappy  individual's  skull,  till  at  last  it  grazed  it 
as  it  flew.  Then  suddenly  the  motion  was  changed,  and  it 
seemed  to  hterally  flow  up  and  down  his  body  and  limbs,  never 
more  than  an  eighth  of  an  inch  from  them,  and  yet  never  striking 
them.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight  to  see  the  little  man  fixed  there, 
having  apparently  realised  that  to  move  would  be  to  run  the  risk 
of  sudden  death,  while  his  black  tormentor  towered  over  him, 
and  wrapped  him  round  wuh  the  quick  flashes  of  the  axe.  For 
a  minute  or  more  this  went  on,  till  suddenly  I  saw  the  moving 
brightness  travel  down  the  side  of  Alphonse's  face,  and  then  out- 
wards and  stop.  As  it  did  so  a  tuft  of  souiething  black  fell  to 
the  ground  ;  it  was  the  tip  of  one  oi  the  htiie  Frenchman's  cur- 
ling mustachios. 

Umslopogaas  leant  upon  the  handle  of  Inkosi-kaas,  and 
broke  into  a  long,  low  laugh  ;  and  Alphonse,  overcome  with 
fear,  sank  into  a  sitting  posture  on  the  ground,  whilst  we  stood 
astonished  at  this  exhibition  of  almost  superliuman  skill  and 
mastery  of  a  weapon.  '  Inkosi-kaas  is  sharp  enough,'  he  shout- 
ed ;  '  the  blow  that  clipped  the  "  buffalo-heiler's  "  horn  would 
have  split  a  man  from  the  crown  to  the  chin.  Few  could  have 
struck  it  but  I ;  none  could  have  struck  it  and  not  taken  ofif 
the  shoulder  too.  Look,  thou  little  heifer  !  Am  I  good  man 
to  laugh  at,  thinkest  thou  ?    For  a  space  hast  thou  stood  within 


54  Allan  Quatermain, 

a  hair's  breadth  of  death.     Laugh    not   again,   lest   the  hair's, 
breadth  be  wanting.     I  have  spoken.' 

'  What  meanest  thou  by  such  mad  tricks  ?  '  I  asked  of  Ura- 
sl<)[)Ogaas,  indignantly.  '  Surely  thou  art  mad.  Twenty  times 
didst  thou  go  near  to  slaying  the  man.' 

'  And  yet,  Macumazahn,  1  slew  not.  Thrice  as  Inkosi-kaas 
flew  the  spirit  entered  into  me  to  end  him,  and  send  her  crasli- 
ing  through  his  skull ;  but  I  did  not.  Nay,  it  was  but  a  jest ; 
but  tell  the  "  heifer  "  that  it  is  not  well  to  mock  at  such  as  I. 
Now  I  go  to  make  a  shield,  for  I  smell  blood,  Macumazahn — 
of  a  truth  I  smell  blood.  Before  the  battle  hast  thou  not 
seen  the  vultures  grow  of  a  sudden  in  the  sky  ?  They  smell 
the  blood,  Macumazahn,  and  my  scent  is  more  keen  than 
theirs.  There  is  a  dry  ox-hide  down  yonder ;  I  go  to  make  a 
shield.' 

'  That  is  an  uncomfortable  sort  of  retainer  of  yours,'  said  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  who  had  witnessed  this  extraordinary  scene.  *  He 
has  frightened  Alphonseout  of  his  wits  ;  look  !'  and  he  pointed 
to  the  Frenchman,  who,  with  a  scared  white  face  and  trembling 
limbs,  was  making  his  way  into  the  house.  '  I  don't  think  that 
he  will  ever  laugh  at  "  le  monsieur  noir  "  again.' 

*  Yes,'  answered  I,  *  it  is  ill  jesting  with  such  as  he.  When 
he  is  roused  he  is  like  a  fiend,  and  yet  he  has  a  kind  heart  in 
his  own  fierce  way.  I  remember  years  ago  seeing  him  nurse  a 
sick  child  lor  a  week.  He  is  a  strange  character,  but  true  as 
steel,  and  a  strong  stick  to  rest  on  in  danger.' 

'  He  bays  he  smells  blood,'  said  Mr.  ^[ackenzie.  '  I  only 
trust  he  IS  not  right.  I  am  getting  very  fearful  about  my  little 
girl.  She  mustliave  gone  far,  or  she  would  be  home  by  now. 
It  is  hall-past  three  o'clock.' 

I  pointed  out  that  she  had  taken  food  with  her,  and  very 
likely  would  not  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  return  till 
nightfall ;  but  1  myself  felt  very  anxious,  ami  fear  that  my 
anxiety  betrayed  itself. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  peoi)le  whom  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  sent 
out  to  search  for  Flossie  returned,  stating  that  they  had  follow- 
ed tlie  si>oor  of  the  donkey  for  a  couple  of  miles  and  had  then 
lost  it  on  some  stony  ground,  nor  could  they  discover  it  again. 
They  had,  however,  scuured  the  country  far  and  wide,  but  with- 
out success. 

After  this  the  afternoon  wore  drearily  on,  and  towards  evt^n- 
ing,  there  being  still  no  signs  of  Flossie,  our  anxiety  grew  ver> 


UfKslopogaas  makes  a  Promise.  5  5 

keen.  As  for  the  poor  mother,  she  was  quite  prostrated  by  hei 
fears,  and  no  wonder,  but  the  father  kept  his  head  wonderfullj 
well.  Everything  that  could  be  done  was  done :  people  were 
sent  out  in  all  directions,  shots  were  fired,  and  a  continuous 
outlook  kept  from  the  great  tree,  but  without  avail. 

And  then  at  last  it  grew  dark,  and  still  no  sign  of  fair-haired 
little  Flossie. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  had  supper.  It  was  but  a  sorrowful 
meal,  and  Airs.  ^Mackenzie  did  not  appear  at  it.  We  three  also 
were  ver)'  silent,  for  in  addition  to  our  natural  anxiety  as  to  the 
fate  of  the  child,  we  were  weighed  down  by  the  sense  that  we 
had  brought  this  trouble  on  the  head  of  our  kind  host.  When 
supper  was  nearly  at  an  end  I  made  an  excuse  to  leave  the 
table.  I  wanted  to  get  outside  and  think  the  situation  over.  I 
went  on  to  the  verandah  and,  having  lit  my  pipe,  sat  down  on  a 
seat  about  a  dozen  feet  from  the  right-hand  end  of  the  struc- 
ture, which  was,  as  the  reader  may  remember,  exactly  opposite 
one  of  the  narrow  doors  of  the  protecting  wall  that  enclosed 
the  house  and  flower  garden.  1  had  been  sitting  there  perhaps 
six  or  seven  minutes  when  I  thought  I  heard  the  door  move. 
I  looked  in  that  direction  and  listened,  but  being  unable  to 
make  out  anything,  concluded  that  I  must  have  been  mistaken. 
It  was  a  darkish  night,  the  moon  not  having  yet  risen. 

Another  minute  passed,  when  suddenly  something  round  fell 
with  a  soft  but  heavy  thud  upon  the  stone  flooring  of  the  ver- 
andah, and  came  bounding  and  rolling  along  past  me.  For  a 
moment  1  did  not  rise,  but  sat  wondering  what  it  could  be. 
Finally  1  concluded  it  must  have  been  an  animal.  Just  then, 
however,  another  idea  struck  me,  and  I  got  up  quick  enough. 
The  thing  lay  quite  still  a  few  feet  beyond  me.  I  put  down  my 
hand  towards  it  and  it  did  not  move :  clearly  it  was  not  an  ani- 
mal. My  hand  touched  it.  It  was  soft  and  warm  and  heavy. 
Hurriedly  I  lifted  it  and  held  it  up  against  the  faint  starlight. 
//  was  a  newly  severed  human  head  I 

I  am  an  old  hand  and  not  easily  upset,  but  I  own  that  that 
ghastly  sight  made  me  feel  sick.  How  had  the  thing  come 
there  ?  Whose  was  it  ?  I  put  it  down  and  ran  to  the  little 
doorway.  I  could  see  nothing,  hear  nobody.  I  was  about  to 
go  out  into  the  darkness  beyond,  but  remembering  that  to  do 
so  was  to  expose  myself  to  the  risk  of  being  stabbed,  1  drew 
back,  shut  the  door,  and  bolted  it.  Then  I  retuned  to  the  ver- 
andah, and  in  as  careless  a  voice  as  I  could  command  called 


$6  Allan  Quatermain, 

Curtis.  I  fear,  however,  that  my  tones  must  have  betrayed  me, 
for  not  only  Sir  lleniy  but  also  Good  and  Mackenzie  rose  from 
the  table  and  came  hurrying  out. 

*  What  is  it  ?  '  said  the  clergyman  anxiously. 
Then  I  had  to  tell  them. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  turned  pale  as  death  under  his  red  skin.  We 
were  standing  opposite  the  hall  door  and  there  was  a  light  in 
it  so  that  I  could  see.  He  snatched  the  head  up  by  the  hair 
and  held  it  in  the  light. 

*  It  is  the  head  of  one  of  the  men  who  accompanied  Flossie,' 
he  said  with  a  gasp.     '  Thank  God  it  is  not  hers  I ' 

We  all  stood  and  stared  at  each  other  aghast.  What  was  to 
be  done  ? 

Just  then  there  was  a  knocking  at  the  door  that  I  had  bolted, 
and  a  voice  cried,  '  Open,  my  father,  open  1  * 

The  door  was  unlocked,  and  insped  a  terrified  man.  He  was 
one  of  the  spies  who  had  been  sent  out. 

'  My  father,'  he  cried,  '  the  Masai  are  on  us  1  A  great  body 
of  them  have  passed  round  the  hill  and  are  moving  towards 
the  old  stone  kraal  down  by  the  little  stream.  My  father, 
make  strong  thy  heart !  In  the  midst  of  them  I  saw  the 
white  ass,  and  on  it  sat  the  Waterlily  [Flossie].  An  Elinoran 
[young  warrior]  led  the  ass,  and  by  its  side  walked  the  nurse 
weeping.  The  men  who  went  with  her  in  the  morning  I  saw- 
not.' 

*  Was  the  child  alive?'  asked  Mr.  Mackenzie,  hoarsely. 

*  She  was  white  as  the  snow,  but  well,  my  falher.  They  pass- 
ed quite  close  to  me,  and  looking  up  from  where  I  lay  hid  1 
•aw  her  face  against  the  sky.' 

'  God  help  her  and  us  ! '  groaned  the  clergj^man. 
'  How  many  are  there  of  them  ?  '  I  asked. 

*  More  than  two  hundred — two  hundred  and  half  a  hun 
dred.' 

Once  more  we  looked  one  on  the  other.  What  was  to  be 
done  ?  Just  then  there  arose  a  loud  insistent  cry  outside  the 
wall. 

'  Open  the  door,  white  man  ;  open  the  door !  A  herald — a 
herald  to  si)eak  with  thee.'     Thus  cried  the  voice. 

Umslopogaas  ran  to  the  wall,  and,  reaching  with  his  long 
arms  to  the  coping,  lifted  his  head  above  it  and  gazed  over. 

*  I  see  but  one  man,'  he  said,  '  He  is  armed  and  carries  a 
basket  in  hi^  hand.' 


Umslopogaas  makes  a  Promise.  57 

'  Open  the  door/  I  said.  *  Umslopogaas,  take  thine  axe 
and  stand  thereby.  Let  one  man  pass.  If  another  follows, 
slay.' 

The  door  was  unbarred.  In  the  shadow  of  the  wall  stood 
Umslopogaas,  his  axe  raised  above  his  head  to  strike.  Just 
then  the  moon  came  out.  There  was  a  moment's  pause,  and 
then  in  stalked  a  Masai  Ehnoran,  clad  in  the  full  war  panoply 
that  I  have  already  described,  but  bearing  a  large  basket  in  his 
hand  The  moonlight  shone  bright  upon  his  great  spear  as  he 
walked.  He  was  physically  a  splendid  man,  apparently  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  Indeed,  none  of  the  Masai  that  I 
saw  were  under  six  feet  high,  though  mostly  quite  young. 
When  he  got  opposite  to  us  he  halted,  put  down  the  baske°, 
and  stuck  the  spike  of  his  spear  into  the  ground,  so  that  it 
stood  upright. 

'  Let  us  talk,'  he  said.  '  The  first  messenger  we  sent  to  you 
could  not  talk ; '  and  he  pointed  to  the  head  which  lay  upon 
the  paving  of  the  stoop— a  gliastly  sight  in  the  moonli^iht  j 
'  but  I  have  words  to  speak  if  ye  have  ears  to  hear.  Also  I 
bring  presents ; '  and  he  pointed  to  the  basket  and  laughed, 
with  an  air  of  swaggering  insolence  that  is  perfectly  indescriba- 
ble, and  yet  which  one  could  not  but  admire,  seeing  that  he 
was  surrounded  by  enemies. 

'  Say  on,'   said  Mr.  ^Mackenzie. 

*  1  am  the  "  Lygonani  '^  [war  captain]  of  a  part  of  the  Masai 
of  the  Guasa  Amboni.  I  and  my  men  followed  these  three 
white  men,'  and  he  pointed  to  Sir  Henry,  Good,  and  myself, 
'  but  they  were  too  clever  for  us,  and  escaped  hither.  We  have 
a  quarrel  with  them,  and  are  going  to  kill  them,' 

'  Are  you,  my  friend  ?'  said  I  to  myself. 

'  In  follo^^^ng  these  men  we  this  morning  caught  two  black 
men,  one  black  woman,  a  white  donkey,  and  a  white  girl.  One 
of  the  black  men  we  killed— there  is  his  head  upon  the  pave- 
Dient ;  the  other  ran  away.  The  black  woman,  the  little  white 
girl,  and  the  white  ass  we  took  and  brought  with  us.  In  proof 
thereof  have  I  brought  this  basket  that  she  carried  Is  it  not 
thy  daughter's  basket  ? ' 

Mr.  Mackenzie  nodded,  and  the  warrior  went  on. 

'  Good  !  A\'ith  thee  and  thy  dauj^hter  we  have  no  quarrel, 
nor  do  we  wish  to  harm  thee,  save  as  to  thy  cattle,  which  w-* 


58  Allan  Quatermain, 

have  already  gathered,  two  hundred  and  forty  head — a  beast 
for  every  man's  father.'* 

Here  Mr.  Mackenzie  gave  a  groan,  as  he  greatly  valued  this 
herd  of  cattle,  which  he  bred  with  much  care  and  trouble, 

'  So,  save  for  the  cattle,  thou  mayst  go  free ;  more  especially,' 
he  added  frankly,  glancing  at  the  wall,  *  as  this  place  would  be 
a  difficult  one  to  take.  But  as  to  these  men  it  is  otherwise ; 
we  have  followed  them  for  eight  days,  and  must  kill  them. 
^Vere  we  to  return  to  our  kraal  without  having  done  so,  all  the 
girls  would  make  a  mock  of  us.  So,  however  troublesome  it 
may  be,  they  must  die. 

'  Now  I  have  a  proposition  for  thine  ear.  We  would  not 
harm  the  Httle  girl ;  she  is  too  fair  to  harm,  and  has  besides  a 
brave  spirit.  Give  us  one  of  these  three  men — a  hfe  for  a  Hfe 
— and  we  will  let  her  go,  and  throw  in  the  black  woman  with 
her  also.  This  is  a  fair  offer,  white  man.  We  ask  but  for  one, 
not  for  the  three  ;  we  must  take  another  opportunity  to  kill  the 
other  two.  I  do  not  even  pick  my  man,  though  I  should  pre- 
fer the  big  one,'  pointing  to  Sir  Henry  ;  '  he  looks  strong,  and 
would  die  more  slowly.' 

*And  if  I  say  I  will  not  yield  the  man?'  said  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. 

'  Nay,  say  not  so,  white  man,'  answered  the  Masai,  '  for  then 
thy  daughter  dies  at  dawn,  and  the  woman  with  her  says  thou 
hast  no  other  child.  Were  she  older  I  would  take  her  for  a 
servant ;  but  as  she  is  so  young  I  will  slay  her  with  my  own 
hand— aye,  with  this  ver}^  spear.  Thou  canst  come  and  see, 
an'  thou  wilt.  I  give  thee  a  safe  conduct ; '  and  the  fiend 
^laughed  aloud  at  his  brutal  jest. 

Meanwhile  I  had   been   thinking   rapidly,  as  one  does  in 

emergencies,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  ex- 

change  myself  against   Flossie.     I  scarcely  like  to  mention  the 

;     matter  for  fear  it  should  be  misunderstood.     Pray  do  not  let 

anyone  be  misled  into  thinking  that  there  was  anything  heroic 

.    about  this,  or  any  such   nonsense.     It  was  merely  a  matter  of 

I    common  sense  and  common  justice.     My  life  was  an  old  and 

worthless  one,  hers  was  young  and  valuable.     Her  death  would 

.     pretty  well  kill  her  father  and  mother  also,  whilst  nobody  would 

\    be  much  the  worse  for  mine ;  indeed,  several  charitable  insti- 


•  llic  Masai  Elraoran  or  young  warrior  can  own  no  property,  \o  all  the 
bootjr  ilicjr  may  win  in  Lallie  belongs  to  their  fathers  alone — ^A.  Q. 


Untslopogaas  makes  a  Pratnise,  S9 

tutions  would  have  cause  to  rejoice  thereat  It  was  indirectly 
through  me  that  the  dear  little  girl  was  in  her  present  position. 
Lastly,  a  man  was  better  fitted  to  meet  death  in  such  a  peculiarly 
awful  form  than  a  sweet  young  girl.  Not,  however,  that  I  meant 
to  let  these  gentry  torture  me  to  death — I  am  far  too  much  of 
a  coward  to  allow  that,  being  naturally  a  timid  man ;  my  plan 
was  to  see  the  girl  safely  exchanged  and  then  to  shoot  myself, 
trusting  that  the  Almighty  would  take  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  case  into  consideration  and  pardon  the  act. 
All  this  and  more  went  through  my  mind  in  very  few  seconds. 
'All  right,  Mackenzie,'  I  said,  'you  can  tell  the  man  that  I 
will  exchange  myself  against  Flossie,  only  I  stipulate  that  she 
shall  be  safely  in  this  house  before  they  kill  me.' 

*Eh?'  said  Sir  Henry  and  Good  simultaneously.  *That 
you  don't.' 

'  No,  no,'  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  '  I  will  have  no  man's  blood 
upon  my  hands.  If  it  please  God  that  my  daughter  die  this 
awful  death,  His  vdW  be  done.  You  are  a  brave  man  (which 
I  am  not  by  any  means)  and  a  noble  man,  Quatermain,  but 
you  shall  not  go.' 

'If  nothing  else  turns  up  I  shall  go,'  I  said  decidedly. 
'  This  is  an  important  matter,'  said  M  ackenzie,  addressing 
the  Lygonani,  '  and  we  must  think  it  over.     You  shall  have 
our  answer  at  dawn.' 

'  Ver>'  well,  white  man,'  answered  the  savage  indifferently  ; 
•  only  remember  if  thy  answer  is  late  thy  little  white  bud  will 
never  grow  into  a  flower,  that  is  all,  for  I  shall  cut  it  with  this,' 
and  he  touched  the  spear.  '  I  should  have  thought  that  thou 
wouldst  play  a  trick  and  attack  us  at  night,  but  I  know  from 
the  woman  with  the  girl  that  your  men  are  down  at  the  coast, 
and  that  thou  hast  but  twenty  men  here.  It  is  not  wise,  white 
man,'  he  added  with  a  laugh,  'to  keep  so  small  a  garrison  for 
your  "boma"  [kraal].  Well,  good  night,  and  good  night  to 
you  also,  other  white  men,  whose  eyelids  I  shall  soon  close 
once  and  for  all.  At  dawn  thou  wilt  bring  me  word.  If  not, 
remember  it  shall  be  as  I  have  said.'  Then  turning  to  Um- 
slopogaas,  who  had  all  the  while  been  standing  behind  him 
and  shepherding  him  as  it  were,  '  Open  the  door  for  me,  fellow, 
quick  now.' 

This  was  too  much  for  the  old  chief's  patience.  For  the  last 
ten  minutes  his  lips  had  been,  figuratively  speaking,  positively 
watering  over  the  Masai  Lygonani,  and  this  he  could  not  stand. 


6o  Allan  Qjiatermaitu 

Placing  his  long  hand  on  the  Elmoran's  shoulder,  he  gripped 
it  and  gave  him  such  a  twist  as  brought  him  face  to  face  with 
himself,  Then,  thrusting  his  fierce  countenance  to  within  a 
lew  inches  of  the  Masais  evil  feather-framed  features,  he  said 
in  a  low  growling  voice  : — 

*  Seest  thuu  me  ? ' 

*  Ay,  fellow,  I  see  thee.' 

'  And  seest  thou  this  ? '  and  he  held  Inkosi-kaas  before  his 
eyes. 

'  Ay,  fellow,  I  see  the  toy ;  what  of  it  ?  ' 

*  Thou  Masai  dog,  thou  boasting  windbag,  thou  capturer  of 
little  girls,  with  this  "  toy  "  will  1  hew  thee  hmb  from  limb. 
Well  for  thee  that  thou  art  a  herald,  or  even  now  would  I  strew 
thy  members  about  the  grass.' 

The  Masai  shook  his  great  spear  and  laughed  long  and  loud 
as  he  answered,  '  I  would  that  thou  stoodst  against  me  man  to 
man,  and  we  would  see,'  and  again  he  turned  to  go,  still  laughing. 

'  Thou  shalt  stand  against  me  man  to  man,  be  not  alraid, 
replied  Umslopogaas,  in  the  same  ominous  voice.  '  Thou  shalt 
stand  face  to  face  with  Umslopogaas,  of  the  blood  of  Chaka,  of 
the  people  of  Amazulu,  a  captain  in  the  regiment  of  the  Nko- 
mabakosi,  as  many  have  done  before,  and  bow  thyself  to  Inko- 
si-kaas, as  many  have  done  before.  Ay,  laugh  on,  laugh  on  ! 
to-morrow  night  shall  the  jackals  laugh  as  they  crunch  thy 
ribs. 

When  the  Lygonani  had  gone,  one  of  us  thought  of  opening 
the  basket  he  had  brought  as  a  proof  tliat  Flossie  was  really 
their  prisoner.  On  hftmg  the  lid  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
most  lovely  specimen  of  both  bulb  and  flower  of  the  Goya 
hly,  which  I  have  already  described,  in  full  bloom  and  quite  un- 
injured, and  what  was  more  a  note  in  i-'lossie's  childish  hand 
written  in  pencil  upon  a  grrasy  piece  of  paper  that  had  been 
used  to  wrap  up  some  food  in  : — 

'Dearest  P'athkr  and  Mother,'  ran  the  note, — *The 
Masai  caught  us  when  we  were  coming  home  with  the  lily.  1 
tried  to  escape,  but  could  not.  They  killed  Tom  :  the  other 
man  ran  away.  They  have  not  hurl  nur^c  and  me,  but  say 
that  they  mean  to  exchange  us  again.>>t  one  of  Mr.  Quatermain's 
parly.  /  wi//  have  nothing  of  t/u  sort.  Do  not  let  anybody 
give  his  hie  lor  me.  'I'ry  and  attack  them  at  night ;  they  are 
going  to  feast  on  three  bullocks  they  have  stolen  and  killed.     1 


Umslopogaas  makes  a  Promise,  6 1 

have  my  pistol,  and  if  no  help  comes  by  dawn  I  will  shoot  my 
self.  They  shall  not  kill  me.  If  so,  remember  me  always, 
dearest  father  and  mother.  I  am  very  frightened,  but  I  trust 
in  God.  I  dare  not  write  any  more,  as  they  are  beginning  to 
notice.     Good-bye. — Flossie.' 

Scrawled  across  the  outside  of  this  was  *  Love  to  Mr.  Qnater- 
main.  They  are  going  to  take  up  the  basket,  so  he  will  get  the 
lily.' 

When  I  read  those  words,  written  by  that  brave  little  girl  in 
an  hour  of  danger  sufficiently  near  and  horrible  to  have  turned 
the  brain  of  a  strong  man,  I  own  I  wept,  and  once  more  in  my 
heart  1  vowed  that  she  should  not  die  while  my  life  could  be 
given  to  save  her. 

Then  eagerly,  quickly,  almost  fiercely,  we  fell  to  discussing 
the  situation.  Again  I  said  that  I  would  go,  and  again  Mac- 
kenzie negatived  it,  and  Curtis  and  Good,  like  the  true  men 
that  they  are,  vowed  that,  if  I  did,  they  would  go  with  me,  and 
die  back  to  back  with  me. 

'  It  is,'  I  said  at  last,  '  absolutely  necessaiy  that  an  effort  of 
some  sort  should  be  made  before  the  mornin"^.' 

'  Then  let  us  attack  them  with  what  force  we  can  muster,  and 
take  our  chance,'  said  Sir  Henry. 

'  Ay,  ay,'  growled  Umslopogaas,  in  Zulu  ;  '  spoken  like  a  man, 
Incubu.  What  is  there  to  be  afraid  of?  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  Masai,  forsooth  !  How  many  are  we  ?  The  chief  there 
[Mr.  Mackenzie]  has  twenty  men,  and  thou,  Macumazahn,  hast 
five  men,  and  there  are  also  five  white  men — that  is,  thirty  men 
in  all — enough,  enough.  Listen  now,  Macumazahn,  thou  who  art 
very  clever  and  old  in  war.  What  says  the  maid  ?  These  men 
eat  and  make  merry  ;  let  it  be  their  funeral  feast.  What  said 
the  dog  whom  I  hope  to  hew  down  at  daybreak  ?  That  he  feared 
no  attack  because  we  were  so  few.  Knowest  thou  the  old  kraal 
where  the  men  have  camped  ?  I  saw  it  this  morning  ;  it  is  thus :' 
and  he  drew  an  oval  on  the  floor  ;  *  here  is  the  big  entrance, 
filled  up  with  thorn  bushes,  and  opening  on  to  a  steep  rise. 
Why,  Incubu,  thou  and  I  with  axes  will  hold  it  against  an  hun- 
dred men  striving  to  break  out !  Look,  now ;  thus  shall  the 
battle  go.  Just  as  the  light  begins  to  glint  upon  the  oxen's  horns 
— ^not  before,  or  it  will  be  two  dark,  and  not  later,  or  they  will  be 
awakening  and  perceive  us — let  Bougwan  creep  round  with  ten 
men  to  the  top  end  of  the  kraai,  where  the  narrow  entrance  is. 


^2  Allan  Quatermain. 

Let  them  silently  slay  the  sentry  there  so  that  he  makes  no 
sound  and  stand  ready.  Then,  Incubu,  let  thee  and  me  and 
one  of  the  Askari — the  one  with  the  broad  chest — he  is  a  brave 
man — creep  to  the  wide  entrance  that  is  filled  with  thorn  bushes, 
and  there  also  slay  the  sentry,  and  armed  with  battle-axes  take 
our  stand  also  one  on  each  side  of  the  pathway,  and  one  a  few 
paces  beyond  to  deal  with  such  as  pass  the  twain  at  the  gate. 
It  is  there  that  the  rush  will  come.  That  will  leave  sixteen  men. 
Let  these  men  be  divided  into  two  parties,  with  one  of  which 
shalt  thou  go,  Macumazahn,  and  with  one  the  "  praying  man  " 
[Mr.  Mackenzie],  and,  all  armed  with  rifles,  let  them  make  their 
way  one  to  the  right  of  the  kraal  and  one  to  the  left ;  and  when 
thou,  Macumazahn,  lowest  like  an  ox,  all  shall  open  fire  with  the 
guns  upon  the  sleeping  men,  being  very  careful  not  to  hit  the 
little  maid.  Then  shall  Bougwan  at  the  far  end  and  his  ten  men 
raise  their  war-cry,  and,  springing  over  the  wall,  put  the  Masai 
there  to  the  sword.  And  it  shall  happen  that,  being  yet  hea\7 
with  food  and  sleep,  and  bewildered  by  the  firing  of  the  guns, 
the  falling  of  men,  and  the  spears  of  Bougwan,  the  soldiers  shall 
rise  and  rush  like  wild  game  towards  the  thorn-stopped  entrance, 
and  there  the  bullets  from  either  side  shall  plough  through  them, 
and  there  shall  Incubu  and  the  Askari  and  I  wait  for  those  who 
break  through.  Such  is  my  plan,  Macumazahn  ;  if  thou  hast 
a  better  name  it.' 

When  he  had  done,  I  explained  to  the  others  such  portions  of 
this  scheme  as  they  had  failed  to  understand,  and  they  all  joined 
with  me  in  expressing  the  greatest  admiration  of  the  acute  and 
skilful  programme  devised  by  the  old  Zulu,  who  was  indeed,  in 
his  own  savage  fashion,  the  finest  general  I  ever  knew.  After 
some  discussion  we  determined  to  accept  the  scheme,  as  it  stood, 
it  being  the  only  one  possible  under  the  circumstances,  and 
giving  the  best  chance  of  success  that  such  a  forlorn  hope  would 
admit  of — which,  however,  considering  the  enormous  odds  and 
the  character  of  our  foe,  was  not  very  great. 

'Ah,  old  lion  !'  I  said  to  Umsloj)ogaas,  'thou  knowesthowlo 
lie  in  wait  as  well  as  how  to  bite,  where  to  seize  as  well  as  where 
to  hang  on.' 

'Aye,  aye,  Macumazahn,'  he  answered.  'For  thirty  years 
have  I  been  a  warrior,  and  have  seen  many  things.  It  will  be  a 
good  fight     I  smell  blood— I  tell  tliee,  I  smell  blood' 


The  Night  Wears  on,  63 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   NIGHT   WEARS   ON. 

A  s  may  be  imagined,  at  the  very  first  sign  of  a  Masai  the  entire 
population  of  the  Mission  Station  had  sought  refuge  inside  the 
stout  stone  wall,  and  were  now  to  be  seen,  men — women,  and 
countless  children — huddled  up  together  in  httle  groups,  and 
all  talking  at  once  in  awed  tones  of  the  awfulness  of  Masai 
manners  and  customs,  and  of  the  fate  that  they  had  to  expect 
if  those  bloodthirsty  savages  succeded  in  getting  over  the  stone 
wall. 

Immediately  after  we  had  settled  upon  the  outline  of  our 
plan  of  action  as  suggested  by  Umslopogaas,  Mr.  Mackenzie  sent 
for  four  sharp  boys  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
despatched  them  to  various  points  from  whence  they  could 
keep  an  outlook  upon  the  Masai  camp,  with  orders  to  report 
from  time  to  time  what  was  going  on.  Other  lads  and  even 
women  were  stationed  at  intervals  along  the  wall  in  order  to 
guard  against  the  possibility  ot  surprise. 

After  this  the  twenty  men  who  formed  his  whole  available 
fighting  force  were  summoned   by  our  host  into  the  square 
formed  by  the  house,  and   there,   standing  by  the  bole  of  the 
great  conifer,  he  earnestly  addressed  them  and  our  four  Askari. 
Indeed,  it  formed  a  very  impressive  scene — one  not  likely  to 
be  forgotten  by  anybody  who  witnessed  it.     Immediately  by  the 
tree  stood  the  angular  form  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,   one  arm  out- 
stretched as  he  talked,  and  the  other  resting  against  the  giant 
bole,  his  hat  off,  and  his  plain  but  kindly  face  clearly  betraying 
the  anguish  of  his  mind.     Next  to  him  was  his  poor  wife,  who, 
seated  on  a  chair,  had  her  face  hidden  in  her  hand.     On  the 
other  side  of  her  was  Alphonse,  looking  exceedingly  uncom' 
fortable,  and  behind  him  stood  the  three  of  us,  with  Umslopa 
gaas'  grim  and  towering  form  in  the  background,  resting,  aa 
usual,  on  his  axe.     In  front  stood  and  squatted  the  group  of 
armed  men — some  with  rifles  in  their  hands,  and  others  with 
spears  and  shields — following  with  eager  attention  every  word 
that  fell  from  the  speaker's  lips.     The  white  light  of  the  moon 
peering  in  beneath  the  lofty  boughs  threw  a  strange  wild  glamoui 


64  Allan  QuatennaitL 

over  the  scene,  whilst  the  melancholy  soughing  of  the  night  wind 
passing  through  the  millions  of  pine  needles  overhead  added  a 
sadness  of  its  own  to  what  was  already  a  sufficiently  tragic  oc- 
casion. 

J      '  Men,'  said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  after  he  had  put  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  fully  and  cleariy  before  them,  and  explained 
to  them  the  proposed   plan  of  our  forlorn  hope — *  men,  for 
years  I  have  been  a  good  friend  to  you,  protecting  you,  teach- 
ing you,  guarding  you  and  yours  from  harm,  and  ye  have  pros 
pered  with  me.     Ye  have  seen  my  child — the  Waterlily,  as  ye 
call  her — grow  year  by  year,  from   tenderest  infancy  to  tender 
V      childhood,  and  from  childhood  on  towards  maidenhood.     She 
\    has  been  your  children's  playmate,  she  has  helped  to  tend  you 
J    when  sick,  and  ye  have  loved  her.' 

/  '  We  have,'  said  a  deep  voice,  *  and  we  will  die  to  save  her.' 
'  I  thank  you  from  my  heart — I  thank  you.  Sure  am  I  that 
now,  in  this  hour  of  darkest  trouble ;  now  that  her  young  life 
is  like  to  be  cut  off  by  cruel  and  savage  men — who  of  a  truth 
"  know  not  what  they  do  " — ye  will  strive  your  best  to  save  her, 
and  to  save  me  and  her  mother  from  broken  hearts.  Think, 
too,  of  your  own  wives  and  children.  If  she  dies,  her  death 
will  be  followed  by  an  attack  upon  us  here,  and  at  the  best, 
even  if  we  hold  our  own,  your  houses  and  gardens  will  be  de- 
stroyed, and  your  goods  and  cattle  swept  away.  I  am,  as  ye 
well  know,  a  man  of  peace.  Never  in  all  these  years  have  I 
lifted  my  hand  to  spill  man's  blood ;  but  now  I  say  strike,  strike, 
in  the  name  of  God,  who  bade  us  protect  our  lives  and  homes. 
Swear  to  me,'  he  went  on  with  added  fervour — *  swear  to  me 
that  whilst  a  man  of  you  remains  alive  ye  will  strive  your  utter- 
most with  me  and  these  brave  white  men  to  save  the  child  from 
a  bloody  and  cruel  death.' 

'  Say  no  more,  my  father,'  said  the  same  deep  voice,  that  be- 
longed to  a  stalwart  elder  of  the  Mission  ;  *  we  swear  it.  May 
we  and  ours  die  the  death  of  dogs,  and  our  bones  be  thrown  to 
the  jackals  and  the  kites,  if  we  break  the  oath  !  It  is  a  fearful 
thing  to  do,  my  father,  so  few  to  strike  at  so  many,  yet  will  we 
do  it  or  die  in  the  doing.     We  swear  ! ' 

'  Ay,  thus  say  we  all,'  chimed  in  the  others. 
*  Thus  say  we  all,'  said  I. 

'  It  is  well,'  went  on  Mr.  Mackenzie.     *  Ye  are  true  men  and  ^ 
not  broken  reeds  to  lean  on.      And   now,   friends — white  and 
black  together — let  us  kneel  and  offer  up  our  humble  supplica- 


TJu  Night  Wears  on,  65 

tion  to  the  Throne  of  Power,  praying  that  He  in  the  hollow  o( 
Whose  hand  lie  all  our  lives,  Who  giveth  life  and  giveth  death, 
may  be  pleased  to  make  strong  our  arms  that  we  may  prevail 
in  what  awaits  us  at  the  morning's  light.' 

And  he  knelt  down,  an  example  that  we  all  followed  except 
Umslopogaas,  who  still  stood  in  the  background,  grimly  leaning 
on  Inkosi-kaas.  The  fierce  old  Zulu  had  no  gods,  and  wor- 
shipped nought,  unless  it  were  his  battle-axe. 

'  Oh  God  of  gods  ! '  began  the  clergyman,  his  deep  voice, 
tremulous  with  emotion,  echoing  up  in  the  silence  even  to  the 
leafy  roof;  'Protector  of  the  oppressed,  Refuge  of  those  in  dan- 
ger. Guardian  of  the  helpless,  hear  Thou  our  prayer  !  Almighty 
Father,  to  Thee  we  come  in  supplication.  Hear  Thou  our 
prayer  !  Behold,  one  child  hast  thou  given  us — an  innocent 
child,  nurtured  in  Thy  knowledge — and  now  she  lies  beneath 
the  shadow  of  the  sword,  in  danger  of  a  fearful  death  at  the 
hands  of  cruel  men.  Be  with  her  now,  oh  God,  and  comfort 
her  !  Save  her,  oh  Heavenly  Father  !  Oh  God  of  battle,  Who 
teach eth  our  hands  to  war  and  our  fingers  to  fight,  in  Whose 
strength  are  hid  the  destinies  of  men,  be  Thou  with  us  in  the 
hour  of  strife.  When  we  go  forth  into  the  shadow  of  death, 
make  Thou  us  strong  to  conquer.  Breathe  Thou  upon  our 
foes  and  scatter  them  ;  turn  Thou  their  strength  to  water,  and 
bring  their  high-blown  pride  to  nought ;  compass  us  about  with 
Thy  protection;  throw  over  us  the  shield  of  Thy  power  ;  for- 
get us  not  now  in  the  hour  of  our  sore  distress ;  help  us  now 
that  the  cruel  man  would  dash  our  little  ones  against  the  stones! 
Hear  Thou  our  prayer !  And  for  those  of  us  who,  kneehng 
now  on  earth  in  health  before  Thee,  shall  at  the  sunrise  adore 
Thy  Presence  on  the  Throne,  hear  our  prayer  !  Make  them 
clean,  oh  God  ;  wash  away  their  offences  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  ;  and  when  their  spirits  pass,  oh,  receive  Thou  them  into 
the  haven  of  the  just.  Go  forth,  oh  Father,  go  forth  with  us 
into  the  battle,  as  with  the  Israelites  of  old.  Oh  God  of  battles, 
near  Thou  our  prayer  ! ' 

He  ceased,  and  after  a  moment's  silence  we  all  rose,  and 
then  began  our  preparations  in  good  earnest.  As  Umslopogaas 
said,  it  was  time  to  stop  '  talking '  and  get  to  business.  The 
men  who  were  to  form  each  little  party  were  carefully  selected, 
and  still  more  carefully  and  minutely  instructed  as  to  what  was 
to  be  done.  After  much  consideration  it  was  agreed  that  the 
ten  men  led  by  Good,  whose  duty  it  was  to  stampede  the  camp, 


66  Allan  QuaterwafH. 

were  not  to  carry  fire-arms  ;  that  is,  with  the  exception  of  Good 
himseit,  who  had  a  revolver  as  well  as  a  short  sword — the  Masai 
*  sirae     which  I  had  taken  from  the  body  of  our  poor  servant 
who  was  murdered  in  the  canoe.     We  feared  that  if  they  had 
fire-arms  the  result  of  three  cross-fires  carried  on  at  once  would 
be  that  some  of  our  own  people  would  be  shot  ;  besides,  it  ap- 
peared to  all  of  us  that  the  work  they  had  to  do  would  best  be 
carried  out  with  cold  steel — especially  to  Umslopogaas,  who 
was,  indeed,  a  great  advocate  of  cold  steel.     We  had  with  us 
four  Winchester  repeating  rifles,  besides  half-a-dozen  Martinis. 
I  armed  myself  with  one  of  the  repeaters — my  own  ;  an  ex- 
cellent weapon   for  this   kind  of  work,  where  great  rapidity  of 
fire  is  desirable,    and    fitted   with  ordinary  flap-sights  instead 
of  the  usual  cumbersome  sliding  mechanism  which  they  gen- 
erally  have.     Mr.    Mackenzie   took  another,  and  the  two  re- 
maining ones  were  given  to  two  of  his  men  who  understood 
the  use  of  them  and  were  noted  shots.     The  Martinis  and  some 
rifles  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  were  served  out,  together  with  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  ammunition,  to  the  other  natives  who  were  to 
form    the   two   parties   whose  duty  it  was  to  open   fire  from 
separate  sides  of  the  kraal  on   the  sleeping  Masai,  and  who 
were  fortunately  all  more  or  less  accustomed  to  the  use  of  a 
gun. 

As  for  Umslopogaas,  we  know  how  he  was  armed — with  an 
axe.  It  may  be  remembered  that  he.  Sir  Henry,  and  the 
strongest  of  the  Askari  were  to  hold  the  thorn-stopped  entrance 
to  the  kraal  against  the  anticipated  rush  of  men  striving  to  es- 
cape. Of  course,  for  such  a  purpose  as  this  guns  were  useless. 
Therefore  Sir  Henry  and  the  Askari  proceeded  to  arm  them- 
selves in  like  fashion.  It  so  happened  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
in  his  little  store  a  selection  of  the  very  best  steel  English-made 
hammer-backed  axe-heads.  Sir  Henry  selected  one  of  these 
weighing  about  two  and  a  half  pounds  and  very  broad  in  the 
blade,  and  the  Askari  took  another  a  size  smaller.  After  Um- 
slopogaas had  put  an  extra  edge  on  these  two  axe-heads,  we 
fixed  them  to  three  feet  six  helves,  of  which  Mr.  Mackenzie 
fortunately  had  some  in  stock,  made  of  a  light  but  exceedingly 
tough  native  wood,  something  like  English  a^,  only  more 
springy.  When  two  suitable  helves  had  been  selected  with 
great  care  and  the  ends  of  the  haft  notched  to  prevent  the  hand 
from  slij)ping,  the  axe-heads  were  fixed  on  them  as  firmly  as 
possible,  and  the  weapons  immersed  in  a  bucket  of  water  for 


The  Night  Wears  on,  67 

half  an  hour.  The  result  of  this  was  to  swell  the  wood  in  the 
socket  in  such  a  fashion  that  nothing  short  of  burning  would 
yet  It  out  again.  When  this  important  matter  had  been  at- 
tended to  by  Umslopogaas,  I  went  into  my  room  and  proceeded 
to  open  a  little  tin-hned  deal  case,  which  had  not  been  undone 
since  we  left  England,  and  which  contained — what  do  you 
think  ? — nothing  more  nor  less  than  four  mail  shirts. 

It  had  happened  to  us  three  on  a  pre\'ious  journey  that  we 
aad  made  in  another  part  of  Africa  to  owe  our  lives  to  iron 
shirts  of  native  make,  and  remembering  this,  I  had  suggested 
before  we  started  on  our  present  hazardous  expedition  that  we 
should  have  some  made  to  fit  us.     There  was  a  little  difficulty 
about  this,  as  armour-making  is  prett}'  well  an  extinct  art,  but  ■ 
they  can  do  most  things  in  the  way  of  steel  work  in  Birming- 
ham if  they  are  put  to  it  and  you  will  pay  the  price,  and  the 
end  of  it  was  that  they  turned  us  out  the  loveliest  steel  shirts 
it  is  possible  to  see.     The  workmanship  was  exceedingly  fine, 
the  web  being  composed  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  stout 
but  tiny  rings  of  the  best  steel  made.     These  shirts,  or  rather 
steel-sleeved  and  high-necked  jerseys,  were  Hned  with  ventila- 
ted wash  leather,  were  not  bright,  but  browned  like  the  barrel 
of  a  gun ;  and  mine  weighed  exactly  seven  pounds  and  fitted 
me  so  well  that  I  found  I  could  wear  it  for  days  next  my  skin 
without  being  chafed.    Sir  Henr}'  had  two,  one  of  the  ordinary 
make,  viz.,  a  jersey  with  little  dependent  flaps  meant  to  afford 
some  protection  to  the  upper  part  of  the  thighs,  and  another 
of  his  own  design  fashioned  on  the  pattern  of  the  garments  ad- 
vertised as  '  combinations '  and  weighing  twelve  pounds.    This 
combination  shirt,  of  which  the  seat  was  made  of  wash-leather, 
protected  the  whole  body  down  to  the  knees,  but  was  rather 
more  cumbersome,  inasmuch  as  it  had  to  be  laced  up  the  back 
and,  of  course,  involved  some  extra  weight.     With  these  shirts 
were  what  looked  like  four  brown  cloth  travelling  caps  with 
ear  pieces.     Each  of  these  caps  was  however  quilted  with  steel 
links  so  as  to  afford  a  most  valuable  protection  for  the  head. 

It  seems  almost  laughable  to  talk  of  steel  shirts  in  these  days 
of  bullets,  against  which  they  are  of  course  quite  useless ;  but 
where  one  has  to  do  with  savages,  armed  with  cutting  weapons 
such  as  assegais  or  battle-axes,  they  afford  the  most  valuable 
protection,  being,  if  well  made,  quite  invulnerable  to  them.  I 
have  often  thought  that  if  only  the  English  Government  had  in 
our  savage  wars,  and  more  especially  in  the  Zulu  war,  thought 


68  Allan  Quatermain, 

fit  to  serve  out  light  steel  shirts,  there  would  be  many  a  man 
alive  to-day  who,  as  it  is,  is  dead  and  forgotten. 

To  return  :  on  the  present  occasion  wc  blessed  our  foresight 
in  bringing  these  shirts,  and  also  our  good  luck,  in  that  they  had 
not  been  stolen  by  our  rascally  bearers  when  they  ran  away 
with  our  goods.     As  Curtis  had  two,  and,  after  considerable 
deliberation,  had  made  up  his  mind  to  wear  his  combination 
one  himself— the  extra  three  or  four  pounds'  weight  being  a 
matter  of  no  account  to  so  strong  a  man,  and  the  protection 
afforded  to  the  thighs  being  a  very  important  matter  to  an  in- 
dividual not  armed  with  a  shield  of  any  kind— I  suggested  that 
he  should  lend  the  other  to  Umslopogaas,  who  was  to  share 
the  danger  and  the  glory  of  his  post.     He  readily  consented, 
and  called  the  Zulu,  who  came  bearing  Sir  Henry's  axe,  which 
he  had  now  fixed  up  to  his  satisfaction,  with  him.     When  we 
showed  him  the  steel  shirt,  and  explained  to  him  that  we  wanted 
him  to  wear  it,  he  at  first  declined,  saying  that  he  had  fought  in 
his  own  skin  for  thirty  years,  and  that  he  was  not  going  to  begin 
now  to  fight  in  an  iron  one.     Thereupon  I  took  a  heavy  spear, 
and,  spreading  the  shirt  upon  the  floor,  drove  the  spear  down 
upon  it  with  all  my  strength,  the  weapon  rebounding  without 
leaving  a  mark  upon  the  tempered  steel.     This  exhibition  half 
converted  him ;  and  when  I  pointed  out  to  him  how  necessary 
it  was  that  he  should  not  let  any  old-fashioned  prejudices  he 
might  possess  stand  in  the  way  of  a  precaution  which  might 
preserve  a  valuable  life  at  a  time  when  men  were  scarce,  and 
also  that  if  he  wore  this  shirt  he  might  dispense  with  a  shield, 
and  so  have  both  hands  free,  he  yielded  at  once,  and  proceed- 
ed to  invest  his  great  frame  with  the  '  iron  skin.'     And  indeed, 
although  made  for  Sir   Henry,  it  fitted  the  great  Zulu  like  a 
skin.     The   two  men  were  almost  of  a  height ;  and,   though 
Curtis  looked  the  bigger  man,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
difference  was  more  imaginary  than  real,  the  fact  being  that, 
although  he  was  plumper  and  rounder,  he  was  not  really  bigger, 
except  in  the  arm.     Umslopogaas  had,  comparatively  speaking, 
thin  arms,  but  they  were  as  strong  as  wire  ropes.     At  any  rate, 
when  they  both  stood,  axe   in    hand,   invested  in  the   brown 
mail,  which  clung  to  their  mighty  forms  like  a  web  garment, 
showing  the  >well  of  every  muscle  and  the  curve  of  every  Hne, 
they  formed    a    pair    than    any  ten    men    might  shrink  from 
meeting. 


The  Night    Wears  on,  69 

It  was  now  nearly  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the 
spies  reported  that,  after  having  drunk  the  blood  of  the  oxen 
and  eaten  enormous  quantities  of  meat,  the  Masai  were  going 
to  sleep  round  their  watchfires ;  but  that  sentries  had  been 
posted  at  each  opening  of  the  kraal.  Flossie,  they  added,  was 
sitting  not  far  from  the  wall  in  the  centre  of  the  western  side 
of  the  kraal,  and  by  her  were  the  nurse  and  white  donkey 
which  was  tethered  to  a  peg.  Her  feet  were  bound  with  a  rope, 
and  warriors  were  lying  about  all  round  her. 

As  there  was  absolutely  nothing  further  that  could  be  done 
then  we  all  took  some  supper,  and  went  to  lie  down  for  a  couple 
of  hours.  I  could  not  help  admiring  the  way  in  which  old 
Umslopogaas  flung  himself  down  upon  the  floor,  and,  unmind- 
ful of  what  was  hanging  over  him,  instantly  sank  into  a  deep 
sleep.  I  don't  know  how  it  was  with  the  others,  but  I  could 
not  do  as  much.  Indeed,  as  is  usual  with  me  on  these  occa- 
sions, I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  felt  rather  frightened ;  and,  now 
that  some  of  the  enthusiasm  had  gone  out  of  me,  and  I  began 
to  calmly  contemplate  what  we  had  undertaken  to  do,  truth 
compels  me  to  add  that  I  did  not  like  it.  We  were  but  thirty 
men  all  told,  a  good  many  of  whom  were  no  doubt  quite  un- 
used to  fighting,  and  we  were  going  to  engage  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  fiercest,  bravest,  and  most  formidable  savages  in 
Africa,  who,  to  make  matters  worse,  were  protected  by  a  stone 
wall.  It  was,  indeed,  a  mad  undertaking,  and  what  made  it 
even  madder  was  the  exceeding  improbability  of  our  being  able 
to  take  up  our  positions  without  attracting  the  notice  of  the 
sentries.  Of  course  if  we  once  did  that — and  any  slight  acci- 
dent, such  as  the  chance  discharge  of  a  gun,  might  do  it — we 
were  done  for,  for  the  whole  camp  would  be  up  in  a  second, 
and  our  only  hope  lay  in  a  surprise. 

The  bed  whereon  I  lay,  indulging  in  these  uncomfortable  re- 
flections, was  near  an  open  window  that  looked  on  to  the  veran- 
dah, through  which  came  an  extraordinary  sound  of  groaning 
and  weeping.     For  a  time  I  could  not  make  out  what  it  was, 
'but  at  last  I  got  up  and,  putting  my  head  out  of  the  window, 
Istared  about.     Presently  I  saw  a  dim  figure  kneehng  on  the 
end  of  the  verandah  and  beating  his  breast — in  which  I  recog- 
Inised  Alphonse,     Not  being   able  to    understand  his  French 
talk,  or  what  on  earth  he  was  at,  I  called  to  him  and  asked  him 
jvhat  he  was  doing. 


70  Allan  Quatermatn. 

'  Ah,  monsieur,'  he  sighed,  '  I  do  make  prayer  for  the  souls 
of  those  whom  I  shall  slay  to-night.' 

'Indeed,'  I  said,  'then  I  wish  that  you  would  do  it  a  little 
more  quietly.' 

Alphonse  retreated,  and  I  heard  no  more  of  his  groans. 
And  so  the  time  passed,  till  at  length  Mr.  Mackenzie  called  me 
in  a  whisper  through  the  window,  for  of  course  ever)'thing  had 
now  to  be  done  in  the  utmost  silence.  '  Three  o'clock,'  he  said, 
'  we  must  begin  to  move  at  half-past.' 

I  told  him  to  come  in,  and  presently  he  entered,  and  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  if  it  had  not  been  that  just  then  I  had  not  got 
a  laugh  anywhere  about  me,  I  should  have  exploded  at  the  sighl 
he  presented  armed  for  battle.  To  begin  with,  he  had  on  a 
clergyman's  black  swallow-tail  and  a  kind  of  broad-rimmed 
black  felt  hat,  both  of  which  he  had  donned  on  account,  he 
said,  of  their  dark  colour.  In  his  hand  was  the  Winchester  re- 
peating rifle  we  had  lent  him  ;  and  stuck  in  an  elastic  cricket- 
ing belt,  hke  those  worn  by  English  boys,  were,  first,  a  huge 
buckhorn-handled  car\ing  knife  with  a  guard  to  it,  and  next  a 
long-barrelled  Colt's  revolver. 

'Ah,  my  friend,'  he  said,  seeing  me  staring  at  his  belt,  '  you 
are  looking  at  my  "  carver."  I  thought  it  might  come  in  handy 
if  we  came  to  close  quarters  ;  it  is  excellent  steel,  and  many  is 
the  pig  I  have  killed  with  it.' 

By  this  time  ever>'body  was  up  and  dressing.  I  put  on  a 
light  Norfolk  jacket  over  my  mail  shirt  in  order  to  have  a  pocket 
handy  to  hold  my  cartridges,  and  buckled  on  my  revolver. 
Good  did  the  same,  but  Sir  Henr)'  put  on  nothing  except  his 
mail-shirt,  steel-lined  cap,  and  a  pair  of  '  veldt  schoons  '  or  soft 
hide  shoes,  his  legs  being  bare  from  the  knees  down.  His  re- 
volver he  strapped  on  round  his  middle  outside  the  armoured 
shirt. 

Meanwhile  Umslopogaas  was  mustering  the  men  in  the  square 
under  the  big  tree  and  going  the  rounds  to  see  that  each  was 
properly  armed,  etc.  At  the  last  moment  we  made  one  change. 
Finding  that  two  of  the  men  who  were  to  have  gone  with  the 
firing  parties  knew  little  or  nothimz  of  guns,  but  were  good 
spearsmen,  we  took  away  their  rides,  supplied  them  with  shields 
and  long  sj.ears  of  the  Masai  pattern,  and  told  them  off  to  join 
Curtis,  Umslopogaas,  and  the  Askari  in  holding  the  wide  open- 
ing ;  it  having  become  clear  to  us  that  three  men,  however  brave 
and  strong,  were  too  few  for  the  work. 


A  Slaughter  Grim  and  Great  7* 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A   SLAUGHTER   GRIM   AND   GREAT. 

Then  came  a  pause,  and  we  stood  there  in  the  chilly  silent 
darkness  waiting  till  the  moment  came  to  start.      It  was,  per- 
haps, the  most  trying  time  of  all — that  slow,  slow  quarter  of  an 
hour.     The  minutes  seemed  to  drag  along  with  leaden  feet,  and 
the  quiet,  the  solemn  hush,  that  brooded  over  all — big,  as  it  were, 
with  a  coming  fate,  was  most  oppressive  to  the  spirits.     I  once 
remember  having  to  get  up  before  dawn  to  see  a  man  hanged, 
and  I  then  went  through  a  very  similar  set  of  sensations,  only 
in  the  present  instance  my  feelings  were  animated  by  that  more 
vivid  and  personal  element  which  naturally  appertains  rather  to 
the  person   to   be   operated  on  than  to  the  most  sympathetic 
spectator.     The  solemn  faces  of  the  men,  well  aware  that  the 
short  passage  of  an  hour  would  mean  for  some,  and  perhaps  all 
of  them,  the  last  great  passage  to  the  unknown  or  oblivion ;  the 
bated  whispers  in  which  they  spoke  ;  even  Sir  Henry's  contin- . 
uous  and  thoughtful  examination  of  his  woodcutter's  axe  and 
the  fidgety  way  in  which  Good  kept  polishing  his  eye-glass,  all 
told  the  same  tale  of  nerves  stretched  pretty  nigh  to  breaking 
point.     Only  Umslopogaas,  leaning  as  usual  upon  Inkosi-kaai 
and  taking  an  occasional  pinch  of  snuff,  was  to  all  appearance 
perfectly  and  completely  unmoved.     Nothing  could  touch  his 
iron  nerves. 

The  moon  went  down,  for  a  long  while  she  had  been  getting 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  horizon,  now  she  finally  sank  and  lef!: 
the  world  in  darkness  save  for  a  faint  grey  tinge  in  the  eastern 
sky  that  palely  heralded  the  coming  dawn. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  stood,  watch  in  hand,  his  wife  clinging  to  his 
arm,  and  striving  to  stifle  her  sobs. 

'  Twenty  minutes  to  four,'  he  said,  *  it  ought  to  be  light 
enough  to  attack  at  twenty  minutes  past  four.  Captain  Good 
had  better  be  moving,  he  will  want  three  or  four  minutes' 
start.' 

Good  gave  one  final  polish  to  his  eye-glass,  nodded  to  us  in 
a  jocular  sort  of  way — which  I  could  not  help  feeling  it  must 
have  cost  him  something  to  muster  up — and,  ever  polite,  took 


72  Allan  Quatermain, 

off  his  steel-lined  cap  to  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and  started  for  his  po- 
sition at  the  head  of  the  kraal,  to  reach  which  he  had  to  make 
a  detour  by  some  paths  known  to  the  natives. 

Just  then  one  of  the  boys  came  in  and  reported  that  every- 
body in  the  Masai  camp,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  sentries 
who  were  walking  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  respective  en- 
trances, appeared  to  be  fast  asleep.  Then  the  rest  of  us  took 
the  road.  First  came  the  guide,  then  Sir  Henry,  Umslopo- 
gaas,  the  Wakwafi  Askari,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie's  two  mission 
natives  armed  with  long  spears  and  shields.  I  followed  im- 
mediately after  with  Alphonse  and  five  natives  all  armed  with 
guns,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  brought  up  the  rear  with  the  six  re- 
maining natives. 

The  cattle  kraal  where  the  Masai  were  camped  lay  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  on  which  the  house  stood,  or,  roughly  speaking, 
about  eight  hundred  yards  from  the  Mission  buildings.  The 
first  five  hundred  yards  of  this  distance  we  traversed  quietly 
indeed,  but  at  a  good  pace ;  after  that  we  crept  forward  as 
silently  as  a  leopard  on  his  prey,  gliding  like  ghosts  from  bush 
to  bush  and  stone  to  stone.  When  I  had  gone  a  little  way  I 
chanced  to  look  behind  me,  and  saw  the  redoubtable  Alphonse 
staggering  along  with  white  face  and  trembling  knees,  and  his 
rifle,  which  was  at  full  cock,  pointed  directly  at  the  small  of  my 
back.  Having  halted  and  carefully  put  the  rifle  at  '  safety,'  we 
started  again,  and  all  went  well  till  we  were  within  one  hundred 
yards  or  so  of  the  kraal,  when  his  teeth  began  to  chatter  in  a 
most  aggressive  way. 

'  If  you  don't  stop  that  I  will  kill  you,'  I  whispered  savagely  ; 
for  the  idea  of  having  all  our  lives  sacrificed  to  a  tooth-chatter- 
ing cook  was  too  much  for  me.  I  began  to  fear  that  he  would 
betray  us,  and  heartily  wished  we  had  left  him  behind. 

'But,  monsieur,  I  cannot  help  it,'  he  answered,  'it  is  tie 
cold.' 

Here  was  a  dilemma,  but  fortunately  I  devised  a  plan.  In 
the  pocket  of  the  coat  I  had  on  was  a  small  piece  of  dirty  rag  ; 
that  I  had  used  some  time  before  to  clean  a  gun  with.  '  Put 
this  in  your  rnouth,'  I  whispered  again,  giving  him  the  rag ; 
'  and  if  I  hear  another  sound  you  are  a  dead  man.'  I  knew 
thai  that  would  stifle  the  clatter  of  his  teeth.  I  must  have 
looked  as  11  1  meant  what  1  said,  for  he  instantly  obeyed  mc 
and  contmued  his  journey  in  silence. 

Then  we  crept  on  a^jain. 


A  Slaughter  Grim  and  Great.  73 

At  last  we  were  within  fifty  yards  of  the  kraal.  Between  us 
and  it  was  an  open  space  of  sloping  grass  with  only  one  mi- 
mosa bush  and  a  couple  of  tussocks  of  a  sort  of  thistle  for 
cover.  We  were  still  hidden  in  fairly  thick  bush.  It  was  be- 
ginning to  grow  light.  The  stars  had  paled  and  a  sickly  gleam 
played  about  the  east  and  was  reflected  on  the  earth.  We 
could  see  the  outline  of  the  kraal  clearly  enough,  and  could 
also  make  out  the  faint  glimmer  of  the  dying  embers  of  the 
Masai  camp  fires.  We  halted  and  watched,  for  the  sentry  we 
knew  was  posted  at  the  opening.  Presently  he  appeared,  a 
fine  tall  fellow,  walking  idly  up  and  down  within  five  paces  of 
the  thorn-stopped  entrance.  We  had  hoped  to  catch  him  nap- 
ping, but  it  was  not  to  be.  He  seemed  particularly  wide  awake. 
If  we  could  not  kill  that  man,  and  kill  him  silently,  we  were 
lost.  There  we  crouched  and  watched  him.  Presently  Um- 
slopogaas,  who  was  a  few  paces  ahead  of  me,  turned  and  made 
a  sign,  and  next  second  I  saw  him  go  down  on  his  stomach 
like  a  snake,  and  taking  an  opportunity  when  the  sentry-'s  head 
was  turned,  begin  to  work  his  way  through  the  grass  without 
a  sound. 

The  unconscious  sentry  commenced  to  hum  a  httle  tune, 
and  Umslopogaas  crept  on.  He  reached  the  shelter  of  the 
mimosa  bush  unperceived  and  there  waited.  Still  the  sentry 
walked  up  and  do^vn.  Presently  he  turned  and  looked  over  the 
wall  into  the  camp.  Instantly  the  human  snake  who  was  stalk- 
ing him  glided  on  ten  yards  and  got  behind  one  of  the  tussocks 
of  the  thistle-like  plant,  reaching  it  as  the  Elmoran  turned  again. 
As  he  turned  his  eye  fell  upon  this  patch  of  thistles  and  it 
seemed  to  strike  him  that  it  did  not  look  quite  right.  He  ad- 
vanced a  pace  towards  it — halted,  yawned,  stooped  down,  picked 
up  a  little  pebble  and  threw  it  at  it.  It  hit  Umslopogaas  upon 
the  head,  luckily  not  upon  the  armour  shirt.  Had  it  done  so 
the  clink  would  have  betrayed  us.  Luckily,  too,  the  shirt  was 
browned  and  not  bright  steel  which  would  certainly  have  been 
detected.  Apparently  satisfied  that  there  was  nothing  \sTong, 
he  then  gave  over  his  investigations  and  contented  himself  with 
leaning  on  his  spear  and  standing  gazing  idly  at  the  tuft.  For 
at  least  three  minutes  did  he  stand  thus,  plunged  apparently  in 
a  gentle  reverie,  and  there  we  lay  in  the  last  extremity  of  anx- 
iety, expecting  every  moment  that  we  should  be  discovered  or 
that  some  untoward  accident  would  happen.  I  could  hear 
Alphonse's  teeth  going  hke  anything  on  the  oiled  rag,  and 
£ 


74  Allan  Quatermain, 

turning  my  head  round  made  an  awful  face  at  him.  But  I  am 
bounu  to  srate  that  my  own  heart  was  at  much  the  same  game 
as  the  Frenchman's  castanets,  while  the  perspiration  was  pour- 
ing from  my  body,  causing  the  washleather-lined  shirt  to  stick 
to  me  unpleasantly,  and  altogether  I  was  in  the  pitiable  state 
known  by  schoolboys  as  a  *  blue  funk.' 

At  last  the  ordeal  came  to  end.  The  sentry  glanced  at  the 
east,  and  appeared  to  note  with  satisfaction  that  his  period  of 
duty  was  coming  to  an  end — as  indeed  it  was,  once  and  for  all 
— for  he  rubbed  his  hands  and  began  to  walk  again  briskly  to 
warm  himself. 

The  moment  his  back  was  turned  the  long  black  snake 
glided  on  again,  and  reached  the  other  thistle  tuft,  which  was 
within  a  couple  of  paces  of  his  return  beat. 

Back  came  the  sentr)'  and  strolled  right  past  the  tuft,  utterly 
unconscious  of  the  presence  that  was  crouching  behind  it 
Had  he  looked  down  he  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  see, 
but  he  did  not  do  so. 

He  passed,  and  then  his  hidden  enemy  erected  himself,  and 
with  outstretched  hand  followed  in  his  tracks. 

A  moment  more,  and,  just  as  the  Elmoran  was  about  to  turn, 
the  great  Zulu  made  a  spring,  and  in  the  gro\ving  light  we  could 
see  the  long  lean  hands  close  round  the  ^Masai's  throat.  Then 
followed  a  convulsive  twining  of  the  two  dark  bodies,  and  in 
another  second  I  saw  the  Masai's  head  bent  back,  and  heard  a 
sharp  crack,  something  like  that  of  a  dry  twig  snapping,  and  he 
fell  down  upon  the  ground,  his  limbs  mo\ing  spasmodically. 

Umslopogaas  had  put  out  all  his  strength  and  broken  the 
warrior's  neck, 

Yoi  a  moment  he  knelt  upon  his  victim,  still  gripping  his 
throat  till  he  was  sure  that  there  was  nothing  more  to  fear  from 
him,  and  then  he  rose  and  beckoned  to  us  to  advance,  which  we 
did  on  all  fours,  like  a  colony  of  huge  apes.  On  reaching  the 
kraal  we  saw  that  the  Masai  had  still  further  choked  this  en- 
trance, which  was  about  ten  feet  wide — no  doubt  in  order  to 
guard  against  attack — by  dragging  four  or  five  tops  of  mimosa 
trees  uj)  to  it  So  much  the  better  for  us,  I  reflected  ;  the  more 
obstruction  there  was  the  slower  would  they  be  able  to  come 
through.  Here  we  separated  ;  Mackenzie  and  his  party  creep- 
in?  up  under  that  shadow  of  the  wall  to  the  left,  while  Sir  Henry 
ai»»i  l.'msivjpogaas  look  their  stations  one  on  each  side  of  the 
thorn  fence,  the  two  spearmen  and  Lne  Askari  lying  down  in 


A  Slaughter  Grim  and  Great,  75 

front  of  it     I  and  my  men  crept  on  up  the  right  side  of  the 
kraal,  which  was  about  fifty  paces  long. 

^Mien  I  was  two-thirds  up  I  halted,  and  placed  my  men  at 
distances  of  four  paces  from  one  another,  keeping  Alphonse 
close  to  me,  however.  Then  I  peeped  for  the  first  time  over 
the  wall.  It  was  getting  fairly  hght  now,  and  the  first  thing  I 
saw  was  the  white  donkey,  exactly  opposite  to  me,  and  close  by 
it  I  could  make  out  httle  Flossie's  pale  face,  sitting  as  the  lad 
had  described,  some  ten  paces  from  the  wall.  Round  her  lay 
many  warriors,  sleeping.  At  distances  all  over  the  surface 
of  the  kraal  were  the  remains  of  fires,  round  each  of  which 
slept  some  five-and-twent}'  Masai,  for  the  most  part  gorged  with 
food.  Now  and  then  a  man  would  raise  himself,  yawn,  and 
look  at  the  east,  which  had  now  turned  primrose ;  but  none  got 
up.  I  determined  to  wait  another  five  minutes,  both  to  allow 
the  light  to  increase,  so  that  we  could  make  better  shooting,  and 
to  give  Good  and  his  part}' — of  whom  I  could  see  or  hear  no- 
thing— ever}'  opportunity  to  make  ready. 

The  quiet  dawn  commenced  to  throw  her  ever-widening 
mantle  over  plain  and  forest  and  river — might}-  Kenia,  wrapped 
in  the  silence  of  eternal  snows,  looked  out  across  the  earth — 
till  presently  a  beam  from  the  unrisen  sun  lit  upon  his  heaven- 
kissing  crest  and  purpled  it  with  blood ;  the  sky  above  grew  blue, 
and  tender  as  a  mothers  smile ;  a  bird  began  to  pipe  his  morn- 
ing song,  and  a  little  breeze  passing  through  the  bush  shook 
down  the  dewdrops  in  millions  to  refresh  the  waking  world. 
Ever}'where  was  peace  and  the  happiness  of  arising  strength, 
ever}'where  save  in  the  heart  of  cruel  man  ! 

Suddenly,  just  as  I  was  ner\-ing  myself  for  the  signal,  ha\'ing 
already  selected  my  man  on  whom  I  meant  to  open  fire — a 
great  fellow  sprawling  en  the  ground  within  three  feet  of  httle 
Flossie — Alphonse' s  teeth  began  to  chatter  again  hke  the  hoofs 
of  a  galloping  giraffe,  making  a  great  noise  in  the  silence.  His 
rag  had  dropped  out  in  the  agitation  of  his  mind.  Instantly  a 
^losai  within  three  paces  of  us  woke,  and,  sitting  up,  gazed 
about  him,  looking  for  the  cause  of  the  sound.  Moved  beyond 
myself,  I  brought  the  butt-end  of  my  rifle  down  on  the  pit  of 
the  Frenchman's  stomach.  This  stopped  his  chattering ;  but, 
as  he  doubled  up,  he  managed  to  let  oflf  his  gun  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  bullet  passed  within  an  inch  of  my  head. 

Tnere  was  no  need  for  a   signal  now.     From  both  sides  of 
the  kraal  broke  out  a   waving   Une   of  fire,   in  which  I  myself 


76  Allan  Quatcrmain. 

joined,  managing  with  a  snap  shot  to  knock  over  my  Masai  by 
Flossie,  just  as  he  was  jumping  up.     Then  from  the  top  end  of 
the  kraal  there  ran  an  awlul  yell,  in  which  I  rejoiced  to  recog- 
nise Good's  piercing  note  rising  clear  and  shrill  above  tlie  din, 
and  in  another  second  followed  such  a  scene  as  I  have  never 
seen  betbre  nor  shall  again.     With  a^  universal  howl  of  terror 
and  fury  ftlie  brawny  crowd  of  savages  within   the  kraal  sprang 
to  their  feet,  many  of  them  to  fall  again  beneath  our  well-directed 
hail  of  lead  before  they  had  moved  a  yard.     For  a  moment  they 
stood  undecided,  and  then  hearing  the  cries  and  curses  that 
rose  unceasingly  from  the  top  end  of  the  kraal,  and  bewildered 
by  the  storm  of  bullets,  they  as  by  one  impulse  rushed  down 
towards   the  thorn-stopped  entrance.     As  they  went  we  kept 
pouring  our  fire  with  terrible  effect  into  the  thickening  mob  as 
fast  as  we  could  load.     I  had  emptied  my  repeater  of  the  ten 
shots  it  contained,  and  was  just  beginning  to  slip  in  some  more 
when  I  bethought  me  of  little  Flossie.     Looking  up  I  saw  that 
the  white  donkey  was  lying  kicking,  having  been  knocked  over 
either  by  one  of  our  bullets  or  a  Masai  spear-thrust.     There 
were  no  living  Masai  near,  but  the  black  nurse  was  on  her  feet 
and  with  a  spear  cutting  the  rope  that  bound  Flossie's  feet.    Next 
second  she  ran  to  the  wall  of  the  kraal  and  began  to  climb  over 
it,  an  example  which  the  little  girl  followed.     But  Flossie  was 
evidently  very  stiff  and  cramped,  and  could  only  go  slowly,  and 
as  she  went  two  Masai  flying  down  the  kraal  caught  sight  of  her 
and  rushed  towards  her  to  kill  her.    The  first  fellow  came  up  just 
as  the  poor  little  girl,  after  a  desperate  effort  to  climb  the  wall,  fell 
back  into  the  kraal.     Up  flashed  the  great  spear,  and  as  it  did  so 
a  bullet  from  my  rifle  found  its  home  in  the  holder's  ribs,  and 
over  he  went  like  a  shot  rabbit.     But  behind  him  was  the  other 
man,  and,  alas,  I  had  only  that  one  cartridge  in  the  magazine  1 
Flossie  had  scrambled  to  her  feet  and  was  facing  the  second 
man,  who  was  advancing  with  raised  spear.     I  turned  my  head 
aside  and  felt  sick  as  death.     I  could  not  bear  to  see  him  stab 
her.     Glancing  up  again,  to  my  surprise  I  say  the  Masai's  spear 
lying  on  the  ground,  while  the  man  himself  was  staggering  aboui 
with  both  hands  to  his  head.     Suddenly  I  saw  a  puff  of  smoke, 
proceeding  ajjparently  from  Flossie,   and  the  man  fell   down 
headlong.     Then  I  remembered   the  Derringer  pistol  she  car- 
ried, and  saw  that  she  had  tired  both  barrels  of  it  at  him,  there- 
by saving  her  life.     In  another  instant  she  had  made  an  effort, 
and,   assisted   by  the  nurse,    who    was  l)ing  on    the  top,  haa 


A  Slaughter  Grim  and  Great.  yy 

scrambled  over  the  wall,  and  I  knew  that  she  was,  compara 
tively  speaking,  safe. 

All  this  takes  some  time  to  tell,  but  I  do  not  suppose  that  it 
took  more  than  fifteen  seconds  to  enact.  I  soon  got  the  maga- 
zine of  the  repeater  filled  again  with  cartridges,  and  once  more 
opened  fire,  not  on  the  seething  black  mass  which  was  gathering 
at  the  end  of  the  kraal,  but  on  fugitives  who  bethought  them  to 
climb  the  wall.  I  picked  off  several  of  these  men,  moving  down 
towards  the  end  of  the  kraal  as  I  did  so,  and  arriving  at  the  cor- 
ner, or  rather  at  the  bend  of  the  oval,  in  time  to  see,  and  by 
means  of  my  rifle  to  assist  in,  the  mighty  struggle  that  took  place 
there. 

By  this  time  some  two  hundred  Masai — allowing  that  we  had 
up  to  the  present  accounted  for  fifty — had  gathered  together  in 
front  of  the  thorn-stopped  entrance,  driven  thither  by  the  spears 
of  Good's  men,  whom  they  doubtless  supposed  were  a  large 
force  instead  of  being  but  ten  strong.    For  some  reason  it  never 
occurred  to  them  to  try  and  rush  the  wall,  which  they  could  have 
scrambled  over  with  comparative  ease  ;  they  all  made  for  the 
fence,  which  was  really  a  strongly  interwoven  fortification.  With 
a  bound  the  first  warrior  went  at  it,  and  even  before  he  touched 
the  ground  on  the  other  side  I  saw  Sir  Henry's  great  axe  swing 
up  and  fall  with  awful  force  upon  his  feather  head-piece,  and  he 
sank  into  the  middle  of  the  thorns.     Then  with  a  yell  and  a 
crash  they  began  to  break  through  somehow,  and  ever  as  they 
came  the  great  axe  swung  and  Inkosi-kaas  flashed  and  they  fell 
dead  one  by  one,  each  man  thus  helping  to  build  up  a  barrier 
against  his  fellows.     Those  who  escaped  the  axes  of  the  pair  fell 
at  the  hands  of  the  Askari  and  the  two   Mission   Kafirs,   and 
those  who  passed  scathless  from  them  were  brought  low  by  my 
own  and  Mackenzie's  fire. 

Faster  and  more  furious  grew  the  fighting.  Single  Llasai 
would  spring  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  their  comrades,  and  en- 
gage one  or  other  of  the  axemen  with  their  long  spears  ;  but, 
thanks  chiefly  to  the  mail  shirts,  the  result  was  always  the  same. 
Presently  there  was  a  great  swing  of  the  axe,  a  sound  of  crash- 
ing bones,  and  another  dead  Masai.  That  is,  if  the  man  was  en- 
gaged with  Sir  Henry.  If  it  was  Umslopogaas  that  he  fought 
with  the  result  indeed  would  be  the  same,  but  it  would  be  dif- 
ferently attained.  It  was  but  rarely  the  Zulu  used  the  crushing 
double-handed  stroke ;  on  the  contrary,  he  did  Httle  more  than 
tap  continually  at  his  adversary's  head,  pecking  at  it  with  the 


yS  Allan  Quatermain, 

pole-axe  end  of  the  axe  as  a  woodpecker*  pecks  at  rotten  wood. 
Presently  a  peck  would  go  home,  and  his  enemy  would  drop 
down  with  a  neat  little  circular  hole  in  his  forehead  or  skull,  ex- 
actly similar  to  that  which  a  cheese-scoop  makes  in  a  cheese. 
He  never  used  the  broad  blade  of  the  axe  except  when  hard 
pressed,  or  when  striking  at  a  shield.  He  told  me  afterwards 
that  he  did  not  consider  it  sportsmanlike. 

Good  and  his  men  were  quite  close  by  now,  and  our  people 
had  to  cease  firing  into  the  mass  for  fear  of  kiUing  some  of  them 
(as  it  was,  one  of  them  had  been  slain  in  this  way).     Mad  and 
desperate  with  fear,  the  Masai  by  a  frantic  effort  burst  through 
the  thorn  fence  and  piled-up  dead,  and,  sweeping  Curtis,  Umslo- 
pogaas,  and  the  other  three  before  them,  broke  into  the  open. 
And  now  it  was  that  we  began  to  lose  men  fast.     Down   went 
our  poor  Askari  who  was  armed  with   the  axe,  a  great  spear 
standing  out  a  foot  behind  his  back ;  and  before  long  the  two 
spearsmen  who  had  stood  with  him  went  down  too,  dying  fight- 
ing like  tigers  ;  and  others  of  our  party  shared  their  fate.     For 
a  moment  I  feared  the  fight  was  lost — certainly  it  trembled  in 
the  balance.     I  shouted  to  my  men  to  cast  down  their  rifles,  and 
to  take  spears  and  throw  themselves  into  the  ?nelee.    They  obeyed, 
their  blood  being  now  thoroughly  up,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie's  peo- 
ple followed  their  exam.ple. 

This  move  had  a  momentary  good  result,   but  still  the  fight 
hung  in  the  balance. 

Our  people  fought  magnificently,  hurling  themselves  upon  the 
dark  mass  of  Elmoran,  hewing,  thrusting,  slaying,  and  being 
slain.  And  ever  above  the  din  rose  Good's  awful  yell  of  en- 
couragement as  he  plunged,  eyeglass  and  all,  to  wherever  the 
fight  was  thickest ;  and  ever,  with  an  almost  machine-like  regu- 
larity, the  two  axes  rose  and  fell,  carrying  death  and  disablement 
at  every  stroke.  But  I  could  see  that  the  strain  was  beginning 
to  tell  upon  Sir  Henry,  who  was  bleeding  from  several  flesh 
wounds  :  his  breath  was  coming  in  gasps,  and  the  veins  stood 
out  on  his  forehead  like  blue  and  knotted  cords.  Even  Umslo- 
pogaas,  man  of  iron  that  he  was,  was  hard  pressed.  I  noticed 
that  he  had  given  up  '  woodpecking,'  and  was  now  using  the 
broad  blade  of  Inkosi-kaas,  '  browning  '  his  enemy  wherever  he 

•Aa  I  think  I  have  already  said,  one  of  Umslopogaas's  Zulu  names  was  the 
'  Woodpcck'T.'  I  could  never  make  out  why  he  was  called  so  until  I  saw  him 
>nactioa  with  Inkosi-kaas,  when  I  at  once  recognised  the  resemblance.— A.  Q. 


A  Slaughi^  Gnm  and  Great  79 

could  hit  him,  instead  of  drilling  scientific  holes  in  his  head.  1 
myself  did  not  go  into  the  melee^  but  hovered  outside  like  ilie 
swift  *  back  '  in  a  football  scrimmage,  putting  a  bullet  through  a 
Masai  whenever  I  got  a  chance.  I  was  more  use  so.  I  fired 
forty-nine  cartridges  that  morning,  and  I  did  not  miss  many 
shots. 

Presently  do  as  we  would,  the  beam  of  the  balance  began  to 
rise  against  us.     We  had  not  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen  effec- 
tives left  now,  and  the  Masai  had  at  least  fifty.      Of  course,  it 
they  had  kept  their  heads,  and  shaken  themselves  together,  they 
could  soon  have  made  an  end  of  the  matter ;  but  that  is  just 
what  they  did  not  do,  not  having  yet  recovered  from  their  start, 
and  some  of  them  having  actually  fled  from  their  sleeping-places 
without  their  weapons.     Still  by   now  many  individuals  were 
fighting  with  their  normal  courage  and  discretion,  and  this  alone 
was  sufficient  to  defeat  us.     To  make  matters  vorse  just  then, 
when  ^Mackenzie's  rifle  was  empty,  a  brawny  savage  armed  with 
a  '  sime  '  or  sword,  made  a  rush  for  him.     The  clergyman  flung 
down  his  gun,  and  drawing  his  huge  carver  from  his  elastic  belt 
(his  revolver  had  dropped  out  in  the  fight),  they  closed^  in  des- 
perate struggle.    Presently,  locked  in  a  close  embrace,  missionary 
and  Masai  rolled  on  to  the  ground  behind  the  wall,  and  for 
some  time  I,  being  amply  occupied  with  my  own  affairs,  and 
in  keeping  my  skin  from  being  pricked,  remained  in  ignorance 
of  his  fate  or  how  the  duel  had  ended. 

To  and  fro  surged  the  fight,  slowly  turning  round  like  the 
vortex  of  a  human  whirlpool,  and  things  began  to  look  very 
bad  for  us.  Just  then,  however,  a  fortunate  thing  happened. 
Umslopogaas,  either  by  accident  or  design,  broke  out  of  the 
ring  and  engaged  a  warrior  at  some  paces  from  it.  As  he  did 
so,  another  man  ran  up  and  struck  him  with  all  his  force  be- 
tween the  shoulders  with  his  great  spear,  which,  falling  on  the 
tough  steel  shirt,  failed  to  pierce  it  and  rebounded.  For  a  mo- 
ment the  man  stared  aghast — protective  armour  being  unknown 
among  these  tribes — and  then  he  yelled  out  at  the  top  of  his 
voice — 

*  They  are  devils — bewitched^  bewitched  I  ^  And  seized  by  a 
sudden  panic,  he  threw  down  his  spear,  and  began  to  fly.  I  cut 
short  his  career  with  a  bullet,  and  Umslopogaas  brained  his 
man,  and  then  the  panic  spread  to  the  others. 

*  Bewitched^  bewitched  1 '  thev  cried,  and  tried  to  escape  ia 


8o  Alla?i  Qiiatcrniavi. 

even'  direction,  utterly  demoralized  and  broken-spirited,  for  the 

most  part  even  throwing  down  their  shields  and  spears. 

On  the  last  scene  of  that  dreadful  fight  I  need  not  dwell.  It 
was  a  slaughter  great  and  grim,  in  which  no  quarter  was  asked 
or  given.  One  incident,  however,  is  worth  detaihng.  Just  as 
I  was  hoping  that  it  was  all  done  with,  suddenly  from  under  a 
heap  of  slain  where  he  had  been  hiding,  an  unwounded  warrior 
sprang  up,  and,  clearing  the  piles  of  dying  and  dead  like  an 
antelope,  sped  like  the  wind  up  the  kraal  towards  the  spot 
where  I  was  standing  at  the  moment.  But  he  was  not  alone, 
for  Umslopogaas  came  gliding  on  his  tracks  with  the  peculiar 
swallow-like  motion  for  which  he  was  noted,  and  as  they  neared 
me,  I  recognized  in  the  Masai  the  herald  of  the  previous  night. 
Finding  that,  run  as  he  would,  his  pursuer  was  gaining  on  him, 
the  man  halted  and  turned  round  to  give  battle.  Umslopogaas 
also  pulled  up. 

*  Ah,  ah,'  he  cried,  in  mockery,  to  the  Elmoran,  '  it  is  thou 
whom  I  talked  with  last  night — the  Lygonani,  the  Herald,  the 
capturer  of  httle  girls — he  who  would  kill  a  Httle  girl.  And 
thou  didst  hopv?  to  stand  man  to  man  and  face  to  face  with  an 
Induna  of  the  tribe  of  Maquilisini,  of  the  people  of  the  Ama- 
zulu  ?  Behold,  thy  prayer  is  granted  !  And  I  did  swear  to 
hew  thee  limb  from  hmb,  thou  insolent  dog.  Behold,  I  will 
do  it  even  now  ! ' 

The  Masai  ground  his  teeth  with  fury,  and  charged  at  the 
Zulu  with  his  spear.  As  he  came,  Umslopogaas  deftly  stepped 
aside,  and  swinging  Inkosi-kaas  high  above  his  head  with  both 
hands,  brought  the  broad  blade  down  with  such  fearful  force 
from  behind  upon  the  Masai's  shoulder  just  where  the  neck  is 
set  into  the  frame,  that  its  rasor  edge  shore  right  through  bone 
and  flesh  and  muscle,  almost  severing  the  head  and  one  arm 
from  the  body. 

'Ou."  ejaculated  Umslopogaas,  contemplating  the  corpse  of 
his  foe;  '  I  have  kept  my  word.     It  was  a  good  stroke.' 


Alphonse  Explains.  81 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

ALPHONSE   EXPLAINS, 

And  so  the  fight  was  ended.  On  turning  from  this  shocking 
scene  it  suddenly  struck  me  that  I  had  seen  nothing  of  Al- 
phonse  since  the  moment,  some  twenty  minutes  before — for 
though  this  fight  has  taken  a  long  while  to  describe,  it  did  not 
take  long  in  reality — when  I  had  been  forced  to  hit  him  in  the 
wind  with  the  result  of  nearly  getting  myself  shot.  Fearing 
that  the  poor  little  man  had  perished  in  the  battle  I  began  to 
hunt  about  among  the  dead  for  his  body,  but,  not  being  able 
either  to  see  or  hear  anything  of  it,  I  concluded  that  he  must 
have  survived,  and  walked  down  the  side  of  the  kraal  where  we 
had  first  taken  our  stand,  calling  him  by  name.  Now  some 
fifteen  paces  back  from  the  kraal  wall  stood  a  very  ancient  tree 
of  the  banyan  species.  So  ancient  was  it,  that  all  the  inside 
had  in  the  course  of  ages  decayed  away,  leaving  nothing  but  a 
shell  of  bark. 

'  Alphonse,'    I   called,  as    I  walked   down   the   wall,    *  Al- 
phonse ! ' 

'  Oui,  monsieur,'  answered  a  voice.     '  Here  am  I.' 
I  looked  round  but  could  see  nobody.      '  Where  ? '  I  cried. 
'  Here  am  I,  monsieur,  in  the  tree.' 

I  looked,  and  there,  peering  out  of  a  hole  in  the  trunk  of 

the  banyan  about  five  feet  from  the  ground,  I  saw  a  pale  face 

and  a  pair  of  large  mustachios,  one  clipped  short  and  the  other 

as  lamentably  out  of  curl  as  the  tail  of  a  newly  whipped  pug. 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  I  realised  what  I  had  suspected  before 

— namely,  that  Alphonse  was  an  arrant  coward     I  walked  up 

to  him.     '  Come  out  of  that  hole,'  I  said. 

/     *  Is  it  finished,  monsieur  ?  '  he  asked  anxiously  ;  *  quite  fin- 

[  ished  ?     Ah,  the  horrors  I  have  undergone,  and  the  prayers  I 

\  have  uttered  ! ' 

*  Come  out,  you  little  wretch  '  I  said,  for  I  did  not  feel  ami- 
able ;  'it  is  all  over.' 

'  So,  monsieur,  then  my  prayers  have  prevailed  ?     I  emerge,' 
and  he  did. 


82  Allan  Quaterniain, 

As  we  were  walking  down  together  to  join  the  others,  who 
were  gathered  in  a  group  by  the  wide  entrance  to  the  kraal, 
which  now  resembled  a  veritable  charnel-house,  a  Masai,  who 
had  escaped  so  far  and  been  hiding  under  a  bush,  suddenly 
sprang  up  and  charged  furiously  at  us.    Off  went  Alphonse  with 
a  howl  of  terror,  and  after  him  flew  the  Masai,  bent  upon  doing 
some  execution  before  he  died.     He  soon  overtook  the  poor 
Httle  Frenchman,  and  would  have  finished  him  then  and  there 
had  I  not,  just  as  Alphonse  made  a  last  agonised  double  in 
the  vain  hope  of  avoiding  the  yard  of  steel  that  was  flashing 
in  his  immediate  rear,  managed  to  plant  a  bullet  between  the 
Elmoran's  broad  shoulders,  which  brought  matters  to  a  satis- 
factory conclusion  so  far   as  the  Frenchman  was  concerned. 
But  just  then  he  tripped  and  fell  flat,  and  the  body  of  the 
Masai  fell  right  on  the  top  of  him,  moving  convulsively  in  the 
death  struggle.     Thereupon  there  arose  such  a  series  of  pierc- 
ing howls  that  I  concluded  that  before  he  died  the  savage  must 
have  managed  to  skewer  poor  Alphonse.     I  ran  up  in  a  hurry 
ind  pulled  the  Masai  off,  and  there  beneath  him  lay  Alphonse 
covered  with  blood  and  jerking  himself  about  like  a  galvanized 
frog.     Poor  fellow  !  thought  I,  he  is  done  for,   and  kneeling 
down  by  him  I  began  to  search  for  his  wound  as  well  as  his 
struggles  would  allow. 

'  Oh,  the  hole  in  my  back  ! '  he  yelled.  '  I  am  murdered.  I 
am  dead.     Oh,  Annette  ! ' 

I  searched  again,  but  could  see  no  wound.  Then  the  truth 
dawned  on  me — the  man  was  frightened,  not  hurt. 

*  Get  up,'  I  shouted,  '  get  up.  Aren't  you  ashamed  of  your- 
self?    You  are  not  touched.' 

Thereupon  he  rose,  not  a  penny  the  worse.  '  But,  monsieur, 
I  thought  I  was,'  he  said  apologetically ;  '  I  did  not  know  that 
I  had  conquered.'  Then,  giving  the  body  of  the  Masai  a  kick, 
he  ejaculated  triumphantly,  '  Ah,  dog  of  a  black  savage,  thou 
art  dead  ;  what  victor)'  ! ' 

Thoroughly  disgusted,  I  left  Alphonse  to  look  after  himself, 
which  he  did  by  following  me  like  a  shadow,  and  proceeded  to 
join  the  others  by  the  large  entrance.  The  first  thing  that  1 
saw  was  Mackenzie,  seated  on  a  stone  with  a  handkerchiet 
twisted  round  his  thigh,  from  which  he  was  bleeding  freely, 
having,  indeed,  received  a  spear-thrust  that  passed  right  through 
it,  and  still  holding  in  his  hand  his  favourite  carving-knife  now 
covered  with  blood  and  bent  nearly  double,  from  which  I  gath- 


AlpJwnse  Explains.  83 

ered  that  he  had  been  successful  fti  his  rough  and  tumble  with 
the  Elmoran. 

_*Ah,  Quatermain!'  he  sang  out  in  a  trembling,  excited 
voice,  ^*  so  we  have  conquered ;  but  it  is  a  sorry  sight,  a  sorry 
sight ; '  and  then  breaking  into  broad  Scotch  and  glancing  at 
the  bent  knife  in  his  hand,  '  Itgrievesme  sair  to  hae  bent  my 
best  carver  on  the  breast-bane  of  a  savage,'  and  he  laughed 
hysterically.  Poor  fellow,  what  between  his  wound  and  the 
kilhng  excitement  he  had  undergone  his  nerves  were  much 
shaken,  and  no  wonder !  It  is  hard  upon  a  man  of  peace 
and  kindly  heart  to  be  called  upon  to  join  in  such  a  gruesome 
business.  But  there,  fate  puts  us  sometimes  into  very  ironical 
positions  I 

At  the  kraal  entrance  the  scene  was  a  strange  one.  The 
slaughter  was  over  by  now,  and  the  wounded  men  had  been 
put  out  of  their  pain,  for  no  quarter  had  been  given.  The  bush- 
closed  entrance  was  trampled  flat,  and  in  place  of  bushes  it 
was  filled  with  the  bodies  of  dead  men.  Dead  men,  every- 
where dead  men — they  lay  about  in  knots,  they  were  flung  by 
ones  and  twos  in  every  position  upon  the  open  spaces,  for  all 
the  world  like  the  people  on  the  grass  in  one  of  the  London 
parks  on  a  particularly  hot  Sunday  in  August.  In  front  of  this 
entrance,  on  a  space  which  had  been  cleared  of  dead  and  of  the 
shields  and  spears  which  were  scattered  in  all  directions  as  they 
had  fallen  or  been  thrown  from  the  hands  of  their  owners, 
stood  and  lay  the  survivors  of  the  awful  struggle,  and  at  their 
feet  were  four  wounded  men.  We  had  gone  into  the  fight 
thirty  strong,  and  of  the  thirty  but  fifteen  remained  alive,  and 
five  of  them  (including  Mr.  Mackenzie)  were  wounded,  two  mor- 
tally. Of  those  who  held  the  entrance,  Curtis  and  the  Zulu 
alone  remained.  Good  had  lost  five  men  killed,  I  had  lost  two 
killed,  and  Mackenzie  no  less  than  five  out  of  the  six  with  him. 
As  for  the  survivors,  they  were,  with  the  exception  of  myself, 
who  had  never  come  to  close  quarters,  red  from  head  to  foot- 
Sir  Henr)''s  armour  might  have  been  painted  that  colour— and 
utterly  exhausted,  except  Umslopogaas,  who,  as  he  stood  on  a 
little  mound  above  a  heap  of  dead,  leaning  as  usual  upon  his 
axe,  did  not  seem  particularly  distressed,  although  the  skin  over 
the  hole  in  his  head  palpitated  violently. 

*  Ah,  Macumazahn  ! '  he  said  to  me  as  I  hmped  up,  feeling 
very  sick,  '  I  told  thee  that  it  would  be  a  good  fight,  and  it  has. 
Never  have  I  seen  a  better,  or  one  more  bravely  fought.  As  foi 


S4  Allan  Qnatermain, 

this  iron  shirt,  surely  it  is  "  tagati  "  [bewitched]  ;  nothing  could 
pierce  it.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  garment  I  should  have  been 
there^  and  he  nodded  towards  the  great  pile  of  dead  men  be- 
neath him. 

*  I  give  it  thee ;  thou  art  a  gallant  man,'  said  Sir  Henry, 
briefly. 

'  Koos  ! '  answered  the  Zulu,  deeply  pleased  both  at  the  gift 
and  the  compliment.  *  Thou,  too,  1  ncubu,  didst  bear  thyself  as 
a  man,  but  1  must  give  thee  some  lessons  with  the  axe  ;  thou 
dost  waste  thy  strength.' 

Just  then  iVIackenzie  asked  about  Flossie,  and  we  were  all 
greatly  relieved  when  one  of  the  men  said  he  had  seen  her  fly- 
ing towards  the  house  with  the  nurse.  Then  bearing  such  of 
the  wounded  as  could  be  moved  at  the  moment  with  us,  we 
slowly  made  our  way  towards  the  Mission-house,  spent  with  toil 
and  bloodshed,  but  with  the  glorious  sense  of  victory  against 
overwhelming  odds  glowing  in  our  hearts.  We  had  saved  the 
Hfe  of  the  little  maid,  and  taught  the  Masai  of  those  parts  a 
lesson  that  they  will  not  forget  for  ten  years — but  at  what  a 
cost ! 

Painfully  we  made  our  way  up  the  hill  which,  but  a  little 
more  than  an  hour  before,  we  had  descended  under  such  differ- 
ent circumstances.  At  the  gate  of  the  wall  stood  Mrs.  Macken- 
zie waiting  for  us.  When  her  eyes  fell  upon  us,  however,  she 
shrieked  out,  and  covered  her  face  with  her  hands,  crying, 
'  Horrible,  horrible  ! '  Nor  were  her  fears  allayed  when  she  dis- 
covered her  worthy  husband  being  borne  upon  an  improvised 
stretcher ;  but  her  doubts  as  to  the  nature  of  his  injury  were 
soon  set  at  rest.  Then  when  in  a  few  brief  words  I  had  told 
her  the  upshot  of  the  struggle  (of  which  Flossie,  who  had 
arrived  in  safety,  had  been  able  to  explain  something)  she  came 
up  to  me  and  solemnly  kissed  me  on  the  forehead. 

'  God  bless  you  all,  Mr.  Quatermain ;  you  have  saved  my 
child's  life,'  slie  said  simply. 

Thee  we  went  in  and  got  our  clothes  off  and  doctored  our 
wounds ;  I  am  glad  to  say  I  had  none,  and  Sir  Henry's  and 
Good's  were,  thanks  to  those  invaluable  chain  shirts,  of  a  com- 
paratively harmless  nature,  and  to  be  dealt  with  by  means  of  a 
few  stitches  and  sticking-plaster.  Mackenzie's,  however,  was 
serious,  though  fortunately  the  spear  had  not  severed  any  large 
artery.  After  that  we  had  a  bath,  and  oh,  what  a  luxury  it  was ! 
and  havinor  clad  ourselves  in  ordinary  clothes,  proceeded  to  the 


Alphonse  Explains,  85 

dining-room,  where  breakfast  was  set  as  usual.  It  was  curious 
sitting  down  there,  drinking  tea  and  eating  toast  in  an  ordinary 
nineteenth-century  sort  of  away  just  as  though  we  had  not  em- 
ployed the  early  hours  in  a  regular  primitive  hand-to-hand  mid- 
dle-ages kind  of  struggle.  As  Good  said,  the  whole  thing  seem- 
ed more  as  though  one  had  had  a  bad  nightmare  just  before 
being  called,  than  as  a  deed  done.  When  we  were  finishing 
our  breakfast  the  door  opened,  and  in  came  little  Flossie,  very 
pale  and  tottery,  but  quite  unhurt.  She  kissed  us  all  and 
thanked  us.  I  congratulated  her  on  the  presence  of  mind  she 
had  shown  in  shooting  the  Masai  with  her  Derringer  pistol,  and 
thereby  saving  her  own  life. 

'  Oh,  don't  talk  of  it ! '  she  said,  beginning  to  cry  hysterically; 
*  I  shall  never  forget  his  face  as  he  went  turning  round  and 
round,  never — 1  can  see  it  now.' 

I  advised  her  to  go  to  bed  and  get  some  sleep,  which  she 
did,  and  awoke  in  the  evening   quite   recovered,   so  far  as  her 
strength  was  concerned,     It  struck  me  as  an  odd  thing  that  a 
girl  who  could  find  the  nerve  to  shoot  a  huge  black  ruffian  rush- 
ing to  kill  her  with  a  spear  should  have  been  so  affected  at  the 
thought  of  it  afterwards  ;  but  it  is,  alter  all,  characteristic  of  the 
sex.       Poor  Flossie  !       I  fear  that  her  nerves  will  not  get  over 
that  night  in  the  Masai  camp  for  many  a  long  year.     She  told 
me  afterwards  that  it  was  the  suspense  that  was  so  awful,  hav- 
ing to  sit  there  hour  alter  hour  through  the  livelong  ni^ht  ut- 
terly ignorant  as  to  whether  or  no  any  attempt  was  to  be  made 
to  rescue  her.     She  said  that  on  the  whole  she  did  not  expect 
it,  knowing  how  few   there  was  of  us,  and  how  many  of  the 
Masai — who,  by  the  way,    came  continually  to    stare   at  her, 
most  of  them  never  having   seen  a  white  person  before,  and 
handled  her  arms  and  hair  with  their  filthy  paws.     She  said  also 
that  she  had  made  up  her  mind  that  if  she  saw  no  signs  of  suc- 
cour by  the  time  the  first    rays    of  the    rising    sun  reached  the 
kraal  she  would  kill  herself  with    the  pistol,  for  the  nurse  had 
heard  the  Lygonani  say  that  they  were  to  be  tortured  to  death 
as  soon  as  the  sun  was  up  if  one  of  the  white  men  did  not  come 
in  their  place.     It  was  an  awful  resolution  to  have  to  take,  but 
she  meant  to   act  on   it,  and   I  have  little  doubt  but  what  she 
would  have  done  so.  Although  she  was  at  an  age  when  in  Eng- 
land "iris  are  in   the  schoolroom  and   come  down  to  dessert, 
this  '  dauc^hter  of  the  wilderness  '  had  more  courage,  discretion, 
and  power  ot  mind  than  many  a  woman  of  mature  a^e  nurtured 


S6  Allan  Qiiatermatn, 

in  idleness  and  luxury,  with  minds  carefully  drilled  and  educated 
oui  of  any  or;\,'ina!ity  or  self-reaource  that  nature  may  have  en- 
dowed them  with. 

When  breakfast  was  over  we  all  turned  in  and  had  a  good 
sleep,  on'y  getting  up  in  time  for  dinner  ;  after  which  meal  we 
once  more  adjourned,  t0L;ether  with  all  the  available  population 
— men,  women,  youths,  and  girls — to  the  scene  of  the   morn- 
ing's slaughter,  our  object  being  to  bury  our  own  dead  and  get 
rid  of  the  Masai  by  flin^qng  them  into  the  Tana   River,  which 
ran  within  fifty  yards  of  the  kraal.     On  reacliing  the  spot  we 
disturbed  thousands  ui)on  thousands  of  vultures  and  a  sort  of 
brown  bush  eagle,  wliich  had  been  flocking  to  the  feast  from 
miles  and  miles  away.      Often  have  I  watched  these  great  and 
repulsive  birds,  and  marvelled  at  the  extraordinary  sjjeed  with 
which  they  arrive  on  a  scene  of  slaughter.    A  buck  falls  to  your 
rifle,  and  within  a  minute  high  in  the  blue  ether  appears  a  speck 
that  gradually  grows  into  a  vulture,  then  another,  and  another. 
I  have  heard  many  theories  advanced  to  account  for  the  won- 
derful power  of  perception  nature  has  given  these  birds.     My 
own,  founded  on  a  good  deal  of  observation,  is  that  the  vultures, 
gifted  as  tliey  are  with  powers  of  sight  greater  than  those  given 
by  the  most  powerful   glass,  quarter   out  the    heavens  among 
themselves,  and  hanging  in  mid-air  at  a  vast  height — probably 
from  two  to  three  miles  above  the  earth — keep  watch,  each  of 
them,  over  an  enormous  stretch  of  country.     Presently  one  of 
thjni  spies  food,  and  instantly  begins  to  sink  towards  it.    There- 
on his  next  neighbour  in  the  airy  heights  sailing  leisurely  through 
the  blue  gulf,  at  a  distance  perhaps   of  some  miles,  follows  his 
example,  knowing  that  food  has  been  sighted.     Down  he  goes, 
and  all  the  vultures  within  sight  of  him  follow  after,  and  so  do 
all  those  in  sight  of  them.     In  this  way  the  vultures  for  twenty 
miles  round  can  be  summoned  to  the  feast  in  a  few  minutes. 

We  buried  our  dead  in  solemn  silence.  Good  being  selected 
to  read  the  Burial  Service  over  them  (in  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  confined  to  bed),  as  he  was  generally  allowed  to 
possess  the  best  voice  and  most  impressive  manner.  It  was 
melancholy  in  the  extreme,  but,  as  Good  said,  it  might  have 
been  worse,  for  we  might  have  had  '  to  bury  ourselves.'  I 
pointed  out  tiiat  this  would  have  been  a  difficult  feat,  but  I 
knew  what  he  meant. 

Next  we  set  to  work  to  load  an  ox-waggon  which  had  been 
brouiiht  round  from  the  Mibsion  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the 


Alphonse  Explains,  87 

Masai,  having  first  collected  the  spears,  shields,  and  other  arms. 
We  loaded  the  waggon  five  times,  about  fifty  bodies  to  the  load, 
and  emptied  it  into  the  Tana.  From  this  it  was  evident  that 
very  few  of  the  Masai  could  have  escaped.  The  crocodiles 
must  have  been  well  fed  that  night.  One  of  the  last  bodies  we 
picked  up  was  that  of  the  sentry  at  the  upper  end.  I  asked 
Good  how  he  managed  to  kill  him,  and  he  told  me  that  he  had 
crept  up  much  as  Umslopogaas  had  done,  and  stabbed  him  with 
his  sword.  He  groaned  a  good  deal,  but  fortunately  nobody 
heard  him.  As  Good  said,  it  was  a  horrible  thing  to  have  to 
do,  and  most  unpleasantly  like  cold-blooded  murder. 

And  so  with  the  last  body  that  floated  away  down  the  current 
of  the  Tana  ended  the  incident  of  our  attack  on  the  Masai 
camp.     The  spears  and  shields  and  other  arms  we  took  up  to 
the  Mission,  wiiere  they  filled  an  outhouse.     One  incident,  how- 
ever, I  must  not  forget  to  mention.     As  we  were  returning  from 
performing  the  obsequies  of  our  Masai  friends  we  passed  the 
hollow  tree  where  Alphonse  had  secreted  himself  in  the  morn- 
ing.    It  so  happened  that  the  little  man  himself  was  with  us 
assisting  in  our  unpleasant  task  with  a  far  better  will  than  he 
had  shown  where  live  Masai  were  concerned.     Indeed,  for  each 
body  that  he  handled  he  found  an  appropriate  sarcasm.  Alphonse 
throwing  dead  Masai  into  the  Tana  was  a  very  different  crea- 
ture from  Alphonse  flying  for  dear  life  from  the  spear  of  a  live 
Masai.     He  was  quite  merry  and  gay,  was  this  volatile  child  of 
France ;  he  clapped  his  hands  and  warbled  snatches  of  French 
songs  as  the  grim  dead  warriors  went  '  splash '  into  the  running 
waters  to  carry  a  message  of  death  and  defiance  to  their  kin- 
dred a  hundred  miles  below.     In  short,  thinking  that  he  wanted 
taking  down  a  peg,  I  suggested  holding  a  court-martial  on  him 
for  his  conduct  in  the  morning.  ,    j  t  •  j 

Accordingly  we  brought  him  to  the  tree  where  he  had  hid- 
den, and  proceeded  to  sit  in  judgment  on  him,  9ir  Henry  ex- 
plaining to  him  in  the  very  best  French  the  unheard-of  cowardice 
and  enormity  of  his  conduct,  more  especially  in  letting  the  oiled 
rag  out  of  his  mouth,  whereby  he  nearly  aroused  the  Masai 
camp  with  teeth-chattering  and  brought  about  the  failure  of  our 
plans  :  ending  up  with  a  request  for  an  explanation. 

But  if  we  expected  to  find  Alphonse  at  a  loss  and  put  him  to 
open  shame  we  were  destined  to  be  disappointed.  He  bowed  and 
scraped  and  smiled,  and  acknowledged  that  his  conduct  might 
at  first  blush  appear  strange,  but  really  it  was  not,  inasmuch  as 


S$  Allan  QuatermatTU 

his  teeth  were  chattering  not  from  fear — oh,  dear  no  !  oh,  cer- 
tainly not  !  he  marvelled  how  the  *  messieurs '  could  thmk.  of 
such  a  thing — but  from  the  chill  air  of  the  morning.  As  for 
the  rag,  if  monsieur  could  have  but  tasted  its  evil  flavour,  being 
compounded  indeed  of  a  mixture  of  stale  parafine  oil,  grease,  and 
gunpowder,  monsieur  himself  would  have  spat  it  out.  But  he 
did  nothing  of  the  sort ;  he  determined  to  keep  it  there  till, 
alas  !  his  stomach  *  revolted,'  and  the  rag  was  ejected  in  an  ac- 
cess of  involuntary  sickness. 

*And  what  have  you  to  say  about  getting  into  the  hollow 
tree  ? '  asked  Sir  Henry,  keeping  his  countenance  with  diffi- 
culty. 

■  BMt,  monsieur,  the  explanation  is  easy  ;  oh,  most  easy  !     It 
was  thus  :  I  stood  there  by  the  kraal  wall,  and  the  little  grey 
monsieur  hit  me  in  the  stomach  so  that  my  rifle  exploded,  and 
the  battle  began.     I  watched   whilst   recovering   myself  from 
monsieur's  cruel  blow ;  then  messieurs,  I  felt  the  heroic  blood  of 
my  grandfather  boil  up  in  my  veins.     The  sight  made  me  mad. 
I  ground  my  teeth  1     Fire  flashed  from  my  eyes  ;     I  shouted 
"  En  avant  I  "  and  longed  to  slay.     Before  my  eyes  there  rose  a 
vision  of  my  heroic  grandfather  I     In  short,  I  was  mad  !     I  was 
a  wav/ior  indeed  !     But  then  in  my  heart  I  heard  a  small  voice  : 
"  Alphonse,"  said  the  voice,  "  restrain  thyself,  Alphonse  !     Give 
not  way  to  this  evil  passion  !     These  men,  though  black,  are 
brothers  1     And  thou  wouldst  slay  them  ?     Cruel  Alphonse  ! " 
The  voice  was  right.     I  knew  it ;  I  was  about  to  perpetrate  the 
most  horrible  cruelties  :  to  wound  I  to  massacre !  to  tear  limb 
from  limb  1     And   how  restrain   myself?     I   looked  around  ;  I 
saw  the  tree,  I  perceived  the  hole.     "  Entomb  thyself,"  said  the 
voice,  "  and  hold  on  tight  I     Thou  wilt  thus  overcome  tempta- 
tion by  main  force  I "     It  was  bitter,  just  when  the  blood  of  my 
heroic  grandfather  boiled  most  fiercely  ;  but  I  obeyed  !     1  drag- 
ged my  unwilling  feet  along;   I  entombed  myself!     Through 
the  hole  I  watched  the  battle  I     I  shouted  curses  and  defiance 
on  the  foe!    I  noted  them  fall  with  satisfaction  !    ^\'ln•  not  ?    I 
had  not  robbed  them  of  their  lives.     Their  gore  was  not  upon 

my  head.     The  blood  of  my  heroic ' 

*  Oh,  get  .ilong  with  you,  you  little  cur  ! '  broke  out  Sir  Henry, 
with  a  slioui  of  laughter,  and  giving  Alphonse  a  good  kick  which 
sent  him  flying  off  with  a  rueful  face. 

la  ihe  evening  i  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who 
wai>  suifcxa^i^  u  ^ooddeal  Iroui  iiu  wounds,  which  Good,  who  was 


Alphonse  Explains,  85 

a  skilful  though  unqualified  doctor,  was  treating  him  for.  He 
told  me  that  this  occurrence  had  taught  him  a  lesson,  and  that, 
if  he  recovered  safely,  he  meant  to  hand  over  the  Mission  to  a 
younger  man,  who  was  already  on  his  road  to  join  him  in  his 
work,  and  return  to  England. 

'  You  see,  Quatermain,'  he  said,  '  I  made  up  my  mind  to  this, 
this  very  morning,  when  we  were  creeping  down  upon  those 
benighted  savages,     if  we  hve  through  this  and  rescue  Flossie 
alive,'  I  said  to  myself,  '  I  will  go  home  to  England ;  I  have 
had  enough  of  savages.     Well,  I  did  not  think  that  we  should 
live  through  it  at  the  time ;  but  thanks  be  to  God  and  you  four, 
we  have  lived  through  it,  and  I  mean  to  stick  to  my  resolution, 
lest  a  worse  thing  befall  us.     Another  such  time  would  kill  my 
poor  wife.     x\nd  besides,  Quatermain,  between  you  and  me,  1 
am  well  off  ;  it  is  thirty  thousand  pounds  I  am  worth  to-day, 
and  every  farthing  of  it  made  by  honest  trade  and  savings  in 
the   bank   at   Zanzibar,   for  hving  here  costs  me  next  to  no- 
thing.    So,  though  it  will  be  hard  to  leave  this  place,  which 
I  have  made  to  blossom  like  a  rose  in  the   wilderness,    and 
harder  still  to  leave  the  people  1  have  taught,  I  shall  go.' 
C'     'I  congratulate  you  on  your  decision,'  answered  I,   'for  two 
\    reasons.     The  first  is,  that  you  owe  a  duty  to  your  wife  and 
A^  daughter,  and  more  especially  to  the  latter,  who  should  receive 
Isome  education  and  mix  with  girls  of  her  own  race,  otherwise 
\^e  will  grow  up  wild,    shunning  her   kind.      The    other  is. 
that  as  sure  as  I  am  standing  here,  sooner  or  later  the   Masai 
will  try  to  avenge  the  slaughter  inflicted  on  them  to-day.     Two 
or  three  men  are  sure  to  have  escaped   in  the  confusion  who 
will  carry  the  story  back  to  their  people,  and  the  result  will  be 
that  a  great  expedition  will  one  day  be  sent  against  you.     It 
might  be  delayed  for  a  year,  but  sooner  or  later   it   will   come. 
Therefore,  if  only  for  that  reason,  1  should  go.      When  once 
they  have  learnt  that  you  are  no  longer  here  they  may  perhaps 
leave  the  place  alone.* 

'You  are  quite  right,'  answered  the  clergyman.  *1  will  turn 
m)  back  upon  this  place  in  a  month.  But  it  will  be  a  wrench, 
it  will  be  a  wrench.' 


*  By  a  sad  coincidence,  iince  ihe  above  was  written  by  Mr.  Quatermain,  tbt 
Masai  have,  in  April,  1886,  massacred  a  missionary  and  his  wife — Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Houghton — on  this  very  Tana  River.  These  are,  I  believe,  the  fuai.  whit* 
people  who  are  known  to  have  fallen  victims  to  this  cruel  tribe. 


90  Allan  Quatermairu 


CHAPTER  IX. 

INTO   THE   UNKNOWN. 

A  WEEK  had  passed^  and  we  all  sat  at  supper  one  night  in  the 
Mission  dining-room,  feeling  ver}'  much  depressed  in  spirits, 
for  the  reason  that  we  were  going  to  say  good-bye  to  our  kind 
friends,  the  Mackenzies,  and  proceed  upon  our  way  at  dawn  on 
the  morrow.  Nothing  more  had  been  seen  or  heard  of  the 
Masai,  and  save  for  a  spear  or  two  which  had  been  overlooked 
and  was  rusting  in  the  grass,  and  a  few  empty  cartridges  where 
we  had  stood  outside  the  wall,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to 
tell  that  the  old  cattle  kraal  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  had  been 
the  scene  of  so  desperate  a  struggle.  Mackenzie  was,  thanks 
chiefly  to  his  being  so  temperate  a  man,  rapidly  recovering  from 
his  wound,  and  could  get  about  on  a  pair  of  crutches  ;  and  as 
for  the  other  wounded  men,  one  had  died  of  gangrene,  and  the 
rest  were  in  a  fair  way  to  recovery.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  caravan 
of  men  had  also  returned  from  the  coast,  so  that  the  station 
was  now  amply  garrisoned. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  concluded,  warm  and  pressing 
as  were  the  invitations  for  us  to  stay,  that  it  was  time  to  move 
on,  first  to  Mount  Kenia,   and  thence   into   the   unknown  in 
search  of  the  mysterious  white  race  which  we  had  set  our  hearts 
on  discovering.  This  time  we  were  going  to  progress  by  means 
of  the  humble  but  useful  donkey,  of  which  we  had  collected  no 
less  than  a  dozen,   to  carry  our  goods   and  chattels,    and,    if 
necessary,  ourselves.     We  had  now  but  two  Wakwafis  left  for 
servants,  and  found  it  quite  impossible  to  get  other  natives  to 
venture  with  us  into  the  unknown  parts  we  proposed  to  explore 
— and  small  blame  to  them.     After  all,  as  Mr.  Mackenzie  said, 
it  was  odd  that  inree  men,  each  of  whom  possessed  many  of 
those  things   that  are  supposed  to  make  life  worth  living — 
health,  sufficient  means,  and  position  &c. — should  of  their  own 
pleasure  start  out  uj)on  a  wild-goose   chase,    from   which  the 
chanc2s  were  they  never  would  return.     But  then  that  is  whaFi 
Eni:!;:hnK*n  are,   adventurers  to  the   backbone  ;  and  all  our  ^ 
mas^nifwrent  muster-roll  of  colonies,  each  of  which  will  in  time  \ 
kkxx>me  a  ijreat  nation,  testify  to  the  extraordinary  value  of  th^ 


Into  the  Unknown,  91 


spirit  of  adventure  which  at  first  sight  looks  like  a  mild  form  of 
lunacy.  '  Adventurer ' — he  who  goes  out  to  meet  whatever 
may  come.  Well,  that  is  what  we  all  do  in  the  world  one  way 
or  another,  and,  speaking  for  myself,  I  am  proud  of  the  title, 
because  it  implies  a  brave  heart  and  a  trust  in  Providence,  Be- 
sides, when  many  and  many  a  noted  Croesus,  at  whose  teet  the 
people  worship,  and  many  and  many  a  time-serving  and  word- 
coining  politician  are  forgotten,  the  names  of  those  grand- 
hearted  old  adventurers  who  have  made  England  what  she  is,  I 
will  be  remembered  and  taught  with  love  and  pride  to  little 
children  whose  spirits  yet  slumber  in  the  womb  of  unshaped 
centuries.  Not  that  we  three  can  expect  to  be  numbered  with 
such  as  these,  yet  have  we  done  something — enough,  perhaps,  / 
to  throw  a  garment  over  the  nakedness  of  our  folly. 

That  evening,  whilst  we  were  sitting  on  the  verandah,  smok- 
ing a  pipe  before  turning  in,  who  should  come  up  to  us  but 
Alphonse,  and  with  a  magnificent  bow,  announce  his  wish  for 
an  intemew.  Being  requested  to  fire  away,  he  explained  at 
some  length  that  he  was  anxious  to  attach  himself  to  our  party 
— a  statement  that  astonished  me  not  a  little,  knowing  what  a 
coward  the  little  man  was.  The  reason,  however,  soon  appeared. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  going  down  to  the  coast,  and  thence  on  to 
England.  Now,  if  he  went  down  country,  Alphonse  was  per- 
suaded that  he  would  be  seized,  extradited,  sent  to  France,  and 
guillotined.  This  was  the  idea  that  haunted  him,  as  King 
Charles's  head  haunted  Mr.  Dick,  and  he  brooded  over  it  till 
his  imagination  exaggerated  the  danger  ten  times.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  the  probability  is  that  his  offence  against  the  laws 
of  his  country  had  long  ago  been  forgotten,  and  that  he  would 
have  been  allowed  to  pass  unmolested  anywhere  except  in 
France ;  but  he  could  not  be  got  to  see  this.  Constitutional 
coward  as  the  little  man  is,  he  infinitely  preferred  to  face  the 
certain  hardships  and  great  risks  and  dangers  of  such  an  expe- 
dition as  ours,  than  to  expose  himself,  notwithstanding  his  in- 
tense longing  for  his  native  land,  to  the  possible  scrutiny  of  a 
police  officer — which  is  after  all  only  another  exemplification  of 
the  truth  that,  to  the  majority  of  men,  a  far-ofi"  foreseen  danger, 
however  shadowy,  is  much  more  terrible  than  the  most  serious 
present  emergency.  After  listening  to  what  he  had  to  say,  we 
consulted  among  ourselves,  and  finally  agreed,  with  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's knowledge  and  consent,  to  accept  his  offer.  To  beg  n 
with,  we  were  very  short-handed,  aod  AlpU>ase  was  a  quick, 


92  Allan  Quatermain, 

active  fellow,  who  could  turn  his  hand  to  anything,  and  cook — ■ 
ah,  he  could  cook  !     I  believe  that  he  would  have  made  a  pal- 
atable dish  of  those  gaiters  of  his  heroic  grandfather  which  he 
was  so  fond  of  talking  about.  ([Then  he  was  a  good-tempered 5 
little  man,  and  merry  as  a  monkey,  whilst  his   pompous,  vain-j 
glorious  talk  was  a  source  of  infinite  amusement  to  us  ;  andj 
what  is  more,  he  never  bore  malice.i   Of  course,  his  being  soj 
pronounced  a  coward  was  a  great  cfrawback  to  him,  but  noW 
that  we  knew.his  weakness  we  could  more  or  less  guard  against 
it.jjT  So,  after  warning  him  of  the  undoubted  risks  he  was  ex- 
"p6sing  himself  to,  we  told  him  that  we  would  accept  his  offer  on 
condition  that  he  would  promise  implicit  obedience  to  our  or- 
ders.    We  also  promised  to  give  him  wages  at  the  rate  of  ten 
pounds  a  month  should  he  ever  return  to  a  civilised  country  to 
receive  them.     To  all  of  this  he  agreed  with  alacrity,  and  re- 
tired to  write  a  letter  to   his  Annette,  which    Mr.  ]Mackenzie 
promised  to  post  when  he  got  down  country.     He  read  it  to  us 
afterwards,  Sir  Henry  translating,  and  a  wonderful  composition 
it  was.     I  am  sure  the  depth  of  his  devotion  and  the  narration 
of  his  sufferings  in  a  barbarous  country,   '  far,  far  from  thee, 
Annette,  for  whose  adored  sake  I  endure  such  sorrow,'  ought 
to  have  touched  up  the  feehngs  of  the  stoniest-hearted  cham- 
bermaid. 

Well,  the  morrow  came,  and  by  seven  o'clock  the  donkeys 
were  all  loaded,  and  the  time  of  parting  was  at  hand.  It  was 
a  melancholy  business,  especially  saying  good-bye  to  dear  lit- 
tle Flossie.  She  and  I  were  great  friends,  and  often  used  to 
have  talks  together — but  her  nerves  had  never  got  over  the 
shock  of  that  awful  night  when  she  lay  in  the  power  of  those 
bloodthirsty  Masai.  '  Oh,  Mr.JQuatermain,'  she  cried,  throwing 
her  arms  round  my  neck  and  bursting  into  tears,  *  I  can't 
bear  to  say  good-bye  to  you.  I  wonder  when  we  shall  meet 
again  ? ' 

'  I  don't  know,  my  dear  little  girl,'  I  said.  '  I  am  at  one  end 
of  life  and  you  are  at  the  other.  I  have  but  a  short  time  be- 
fore me  at  best,  and  most  things  lie  in  the  past,  but  I  hope  that 
for  you  there  are  many  long  and  ha|)py  years,  and  everything 
lies  in  the  future.  Hy-and-by  you  will  grow  into  a  beautiful 
woman,  Flossie,  and  all  this  wild  life  will  be  like  a  far-off  dream 
to  you  ;  but  1  hope,  even  if  we  never  do  meet  again,  that  you 
will  think  of  your  old  friend  and  remember  what  I  say  to  you 
now.     Always  try  to  be  good,  my  dear,  and  to  do  what  is  right, 


Into  the  Unknown,  93 

rather  than  what  happens  to  be  pleasant,  for  in  the  end,  what- 
ever sneering  people  may  say,  what  is  good  and  what  is  happy 
are  the  same.  Be  unselrish,  and  whenever  you  can,  give  a 
helping  hand  to  others — lor  the  world  is  full  of  suffering,  my 
dear,  and  to  alleviate  it  is  the  noblest  end  that  we  can  set  be- 
fore us.  If  you  do  that  you  will  become  a  sweet  and  God- 
fearing woman,  and  make  iiiany  people's  lives  a  little  brighter, 
and  then  you  will  not  have  lived,  as  so  many  of  your  sex  do, 
in  vain.  And  now  I  have  given  you  a  lot  of  old-fashioned  ad- 
vice, and  so  I  am  going  to  give  you  something  to  sweeten  it 
with.  You  see  this  little  piece  of  paper.  It  is  what  is  called  a 
cheque.  When  we  are  gone  give  it  to  your  father  with  this 
note — not  before — mind.  You  wili  marry  one  day,  my  dear 
little  Flossie,  and  it  is  to  buy  you  a  weading  present  which  you 
are  to  wear,  and  your  daughter  after  you,  if  you  have  one,  in 
remembrance  of  Hunter  Quatermain.' 

Poor  little  Flossie  cried  very  much,  ana  gave  me  a  lock  of  her 
bright  hair  in  return,  which  I  still  have.  The  cheque  I  gave 
her  was  for  a  thousand  pounds  (which  bemg  now  well  off,  and 
having  no  calls  upon  me  except  those  of  charity,  I  could  well 
afford),  and  in  the  note  I  directed  her  father  to  invest  it  for  her 
in  Government  security,  and  when  she  married  or  came  of  age 
to  buy  her  the  best  diamond  necklace  he  could  get  for  the 
money  and  accumulated  interest  I  chose  diamonds  because  I 
think  that  now  that  King  Solomon's  mines  are  lost  to  the  world, 
their  price  will  never  be  much  lower  than  it  is  at  present,  so 
that  if  in  after-Hfe  she  should  ever  be  in  pecuniary  difficulties, 
she  will  be  able  to  turn  them  into  money. 

Well,  at  last  we  got  off,  after  much  hand-shaking,  hat-waving, 
and  also  farewell  saluting  from  the  natives,  Alphonse  weeping 
copiously  (for  he  has  a  warm  heart),  at  parting  with  his  master 
and  mistress  ;  and  I  was  not  sorr}'  for  it  at  all,  for  I  hate  those 
good-byes.  Perhaps  the  most  affecting  thing  of  all  was  to  wit- 
ness Umslopogaas's  distress  at  parting  with  Flossie,  for  whom 
the  grim  old  warrior  had  conceived  a  strong  affection.  He  used 
to  say  that  she  was  as  sweet  to  see  as  the  only  star  on  a  dark 
night,  and  was  never  tired  of  loudly  congratulating  himself  on 
having  killed  the  Lygonani  who  had  threatened  to  murder  her. 
And  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  the  pleasant  Mission-house — a 
true  oasis  in  the  desert — and  of  European  civilisation.  But  I 
often  think  of  the  Mackenzies,  and  wonder  how  they  got  down 
country,  and  if  they  are  now  safe  and  well  in  England,  and 


94  Allan  Quatermain. 

will  ever  see  these  words.  Dear  little  Flossie  !  I  wonder  how 
she  fares  there  where  there  are  no  black  folk  to  do  her  imperious 
bidding,  and  no  sky-piercing  snow-clad  Kenia  for  her  to  look 
at  when  she  gets  up  in  the  morning.  And  so  good-bye  to 
Flossie. 

After  leaving  the  Mission-house  we  made  our  way,  compara- 
tively unmolested,  past  the  base   of  Mount  Kenia,  which  the 
Masai  call  *  Donyo  Egere,'  or  the  '  speckled  mountain,'  on  ac 
count  of  the  black  patches  of  rock  that  appear  upon  its  mighty 
spire,  where  the  sides  are  too  precipitous  to  allow  of  the  snow 
lying  on  them ;  then  on  past  the  lonely  lake  Baringo,  where  one 
of  our  two  remaining  Askari,  having  unfortunately  trodden  upon 
a  puff-adder,  died  of  snake  bite,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts  to  save 
him.     Thence  we  proceeded  a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  to  another  magnificent  snow-clad  mountain  called  Le- 
kakisera,  which  has  never,  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  been  visited 
before  by  a  European,  but  which  I  cannot  now  stop  to  describe. 
There  we  rested  a  fortnight,  and  then  started  out  into  the  track- 
less and  uninhabited  forest  of  a  vast  district  called  Elgumi.    In 
this  forest  alone  there  are  more  elephants  than  I  ever  met  with 
or  heard  of  before.     The  mighty  mammals  literally  swarm  there 
entirely  unmolested  by  man,  and  only  kept  down  by  the  natural 
law  that  prevents  any  animals   increasing  beyond  the  capacity 
of  the  country  they  inhabit  to  support  them.     Needless  to  say, 
however,  we  did  not  shoot  many  of  them,  first  because  we  could 
not  afford  to  waste  ammunition,  of  which  our  stock  was  get- 
ting perilously  low,  a  donkey  loaded  w^ith  it  having  been  swept 
away  in  fording  a  flooded  river  ;  and  secondly,  because  we  could 
not  carr)'  away  the  ivory,  and  did  not  wish  to  kill  for  the  mere 
sake  of  slaughter.     So  we  let  the  great  brutes  be,  only  shooting 
one  or  two  in  self-protection.     In  this  district  the  elepliants,  be- 
ing unacquainted  with  the  hunter  and  his  tender  mercies,  would 
allow  one  to  walk  up  to  within   twenty  yards   of  them  in  the 
open,  while  they  stood,  with  their  great  ears  cocked  for  all  the 
world  like  puzzled  and  gigantic  y)uppy-dogs,  and  stared  at  that 
new  and  extraordinary  phenomenon — man.    Occasionally,  when 
the  inspection  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  the  staring  ended  in 
a  trumj)ct  and  a  charge,  but  this  did  not  often  happen.     When 
it  did  we  had  to  use  our  rifles.     Nor  were  elcjihants  the  only 
wild  beasts  in  the  great  Elgumi  forest.     All  sorts  of  large  game 
abounded,  including   lions — conlound  them  !     I    have  always 
hated  the  sight  of  a  lion  since  one  bit  my  leg  and  lamed  me  for 


Into  the  Unknotvn,  95 

life.     As  a  consequence,  another  thing  that  abounded  was  the 
dreaded  tsetse  fly,  whose  bite  is  death  to  domestic  animals. 
Donkeys  have,  together  with  men,  hitherto  been  supposed  to 
enjoy  a  pecuhar  immunity  from  its  attacks ;  but  all  I  have  to 
say,  whether  it  was  on  account  of  their  poor  condition,  or  be- 
cause the  tsetse  in  those  parts  is  more  poisonous  than  usual,  I 
do  not  know,  but  ours  succumbed  to  its  onslaught.     Fortunately, 
however,  that  was  not  till  two  months  or  so  after  the  bites  were 
inflicted,  when  suddenly,   after  a  two  days'  cold  rain,  they  all 
died,  and  on  remo\nng  the  skins  of  several  of  them,  I  found 
the  long  yellow  streaks  upon  the  flesh,  which  are  characteristic 
of  death  from  bites  from  the  tsetse,  marking  the  spot  where  the 
insect  had  inserted  his  proboscis.     On  emerging  from  the  great 
Elgumi  forest  we,  still  steering  northwards,  in  accordance  with 
the  information  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  collected  from  the  unfortu- 
nate wanderer  who  reached  him  only  to  die  so  tragically,  struck 
the  base  in  due  course  of  the  large  lake,   called  Laga  by  the 
natives,  which  is  about  fifty  miles  long  by  twenty  broad,  and  of 
which,  it  may  be  remembered,  he  made  mention.     Thence  we 
pushed  on  nearly  a  month's  journey  over  great  rolling  uplands, 
something  like  those  in  the  Transvaal,  but  diversified  by  patches 
of  bush  country. 

All  this  time  we  were  continually  ascending  at  the  rate  of 
about  one  hundred  feet  ever}'  ten  miles.      Indeed  the  country 
was  on  a  slope  which  appeared  to  terminate  at  a  mass  of  snow- 
tipped  mountains,  for  which  we  were  steering,   and   where  we 
learnt  the  second  lake  of  which  the  wanderer  had   spoken  as 
the  lake  without  a  bottom  was  situated.     At  length  we  arrived 
there,  and  ascertaining  that  there  was  a  large  lake  on  the  top 
of  the  mountains,  ascended  three  thousand  feet  more  till  we 
came  to  a  precipitous  cliff  or  edge,  to  find  a  great  sheet  of  water 
some  twenty  miles  square  lying  fifteen  hundred   feet  below  us, 
and  e\'idently  occupying  an  extinct  volcanic  crater  or  craters  of 
vast  extent.     Perceiving  villages  on  the  border  of  this  lake,  we 
descended   with  great  difficulty  through  forests  of  pine-trees, 
which  now  clothed  the  precipitous  sides  of  the  crater,  and  were 
well  received  by  the  people,  a  simple,  unwarlike  folk,  who  had 
never  seen  or  even  heard  of  a  white  man  before,  and  treated  us 
with  crreat  reverence  and  kindness,  supplying  us  with  as  much 
food  and  milk  as  we  could  eat  and  drink.     This  wonderful  and 
beautiful  lake  lay,  according  to  our  aneroid,  at  a  height  of  no 
less  than  11,450  feet  above  sea-level,  and  its  climate  was  quite 


g6  Allan  Quatermairu 

cold,  and  not  at  all  unlike  that  of  England.  Indeed,  for  the 
first  three  days  of  our  stay  there  we  saw  little  or  nothing  of  the 
scenery  on  account  of  an  unmistakable  Scotch  mist  which  pre- 
vailed. It  was  this  rain  that  set  the  tsetse  poison  working  in 
our  remaining  donkeys,  so  that  they  all  died 

This  disaster  left  us  in  a  very  awkward  position,  as  we  had 
now  no  means  of  transport  whatever,  though  on  the  other  hand 
we  had  not  much  to  carry.  Ammunition,  too,  was  very  short, 
amounting  to  but  one  hundred  and  fifty  rounds  of  rifle  car- 
tridges and  some  fifty  shot-gun  cartridges.  How  to  get  on  we 
did  not  know  ;  indeed  it  seemed  to  us  that  we  had  about  reach- 
ed the  end  of  our  tether.  Even  if  we  had  been  inclined  to 
abandon  the  object  of  our  search,  which,  shadow  as  it  was,  was 
by  no  means  the  case,  it  was  ridiculous  to  think  of  forcing  our 
way  back  some  seven  hundred  miles  to  the  coast  in  our  pre- 
sent plight ;  so  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  thing 
to  be  done  was  to  stop  where  we  were — the  natives  being  so 
well  disposed  and  food  plentiful — for  the  present,  and  abide 
events,  and  try  to  collect  information  as  to  the  countries  be- 
yond 

Accordingly,  having  purchased  a  capital  log  canoe,  large 
enough  to  hold  us  all  and  our  baggage,  from  the  headman  of 
the  village  we  were  staying  in,  presenting  him  with  three  empty 
cold-drawn  brass  cartridges  by  way  of  payment,  with  which  he 
was  perfectly  delighted,  we  set  out  to  make  a  tour  of  the  lake  in 
order  to  find  the  most  favourable  place  to  make  a  camp.  As 
we  did  not  know  if  we  should  return  to  this  village,  we  put  all 
our  gear  into  the  canoe,  and  also  a  quarter  of  cooked  water- 
buck,  which  when  young  is  delicious  eating,  and  off  we  set, 
natives  having  already  gone  before  us  in  light  canoes  to  warn 
the  inhabitants  of  the  other  villages  of  our  approach. 

As  we  were  paddling  leisurely  along  Good  remarked  upon 
the  extraordinary  deep  blue  colour  of  the  water,  and  said  that  he 
understood  from  the  natives,  who  were  great  fishermen — fish,  in- 
deed being  their  principal  food— that  the  lake  was  supposed  to 
be  wonderfully  deep,  and  to  have  a  hole  at  the  bottom  through 
which  the  water  escaped  and  put  out  some  great  fire  that  was 
raging  below. 

I  pointed  out  to  him  that  what  he  had  heard  was  probably  a 
legend  arising  from  a  tradition  among  the  people  which  dated 
back  to  the  time  when  one  of  the  extinct  parasitic  volcanic 
cones  was  in  activity.     We  saw  several  round  the  borders  of 


Into  the  Unknown.  97 

the  lake  which  had  no  doubt  been  working  at  a  period  long 
subsequent  to  the  volcanic  death  of  the  central  crater  which 
now  formed  the  bed  of  the  lake  itself.  When  it  became  finally 
extinct  the  people  would  imagine  that  the  water  from  the  lake 
had  run  down  and  put  out  the  big  fire  below,  more  es- 
pecially as,  though  it  was  constantly  fed  by  streams  running 
from  the  snow-tipped  peaks  about,  there  was  no  visible  exit 
to  it. 

The  farther  shore  of  the  lake  we  found,  on  approaching  it, 
to  consist  of  a  vast  perpendicular  wall  of  rock,  which  held  the 
water  without  any  intermediate  sloping  bank,  as  elsewhere. 
Accordingly  we  paddled  parallel  with  this  precipice,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  a  hundred  paces  from  it,  shaping  our  course 
for  the  end  of  the  lake,  where  we  knew  that  there  was  a  large 
village. 

As  we  went  we  began  to  pass  a  considerable  accumulation  of 
floating  rushes,  weed,  boughs  of  trees,  and  other  rubbish, 
brought.  Good  supposed,  to  this  spot  by  some  current,  which 
he  was  much  puzzled  to  account  for.  Whilst  we  were  specu- 
lating about  this,  Sir  Henry  pointed  out  a  flock  of  large  white 
swans,  which  were  feeding  on  the  drift  some  little  way  ahead  of 
us.  Now  I  had  already  noticed  swans  flying  about  this  lake, 
and,  having  never  come  across  them  before  in  Africa,  was  ex- 
ceedingly anxious  to  obtain  a  specimen.  I  had  questioned  the 
natives  about  them,  and  learnt  that  they  came  from  over  the 
mountain,  always  arriving  at  certain  periods  of  the  year  in  the 
early  morning,  when  it  was  very  easy  to  catch  them,  on  account 
of  their  exhausted  condition.  I  also  asked  them  what  country 
they  came  from,  when  they  shrugged  their  shoulders,  and  said 
that  on  the  top  of  the  great  black  precipice  was  stony  inhospit- 
able land,  and  beyond  that  were  mountains  with  snow,  and  full 
of  wild  beasts,  where  no  people  lived,  and  beyond  the  moun- 
tains were  hundreds  of  miles  of  dense  thorn  forest,  so  thick  that 
even  the  elepnants  could  not  get  through  it,  much  less  men. 
Next  I  asked  them  if  they  had  ever  heard  of  white  people  like 
ourselves  living  on  the  further  side  of  the  mountains  and  the 
thorn  forest,  whereat  they  laughed ;  but  afterwards  a  very  old 
woman  came  and  told  me  that  when  she  was  a  little  girl  her 
grandfather  had  told  her  that  in  his  youth  his  grandfather  had 
crossed  the  desert  and  the  mountains,  and  pierced  the  thorn 
tbrest,  and  seen  a  white  people  who  hved  in  stone  kraals  be- 
yond- Of  course,  as  this  took  the  tale  back  some  two  hundred 
7 


98  Allan  Quatermain. 

and  fifty  years,  the  information  was  very  indefinite  ;  but  still 
there  it  was  again,  and  on  thinking  it  over  I  grew  firmly  con- 
vinced that  there  was  some  truth  in  all  these  rumours,  and 
equally  firmly  determined  to  solve  the  myster}'.  Little  did  I 
guess  in  what  an  almost  miraculous  way  my  desire  was  to  be 
gratified. 

Well,  we  set  to  work  to  stalk  the  swans,  which  kept  drawing, 

as  they  fed,  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  precipice,  and  at  last  we 

pushed  the  canoe  under  shelter  of  a  patch  of  drift  within  forty 

yards  of  them.     Sir  Henrv  had  the  shot-gun,  loaded  with  No.i, 

and,  waiting  for  a  chancy  got  two  in  a  line,  and  firing  at  their 

necks,  killed  them  both.     Up  rose  the  rest,  thirty  or  more  of 

them,  with  a  mighty  splashing ;    and  as  they  did   so,  he  gave 

them  the  other  barrel.     Down  came  one  fellow  with  a  broken 

wing,  and  I  saw  the  leg  of  another  drop  and  a  few  feathers  start 

out  of  his  back ;  but  he  went  on  quite  strong.     Up  went  the 

swans,  circling  ever  higher  till  at  last  they  were  m^ere  specks 

level  with  the  top  of  the  frowning  precipice,  when  I  saw  them 

form  into  a  triangle  and  head  off  for  the  unknown  north-east. 

Meanwhile  we  had  picked  up  our  two  dead  ones,  and  beautiful 

birds  they  were,   weighing  not  less  than  about  thirty  pounds 

each,  and  were  chasing  the  winged  one,  which  had  scrambled 

over  a  mass  of  driftweed  into  a  pool  of  clear  water  beyond. 

Finding  a  difficulty  in  forcing  the  canoe  through  the  rubbish, 

I  told  our  only  remaining  Wakwafi  servant,  whom  I  knew  to 

be  an  excellent  swimmer,  to  jump  over,  dive  under  the  drift, 

and  catch  him,  knowing  that  as  there  were  no  crocodiles  in  this 

lake  he  could  come  to  no  harm.     Entering  into  the  fun  of  the 

thing,  the  man  did  so,  and  soon  was  dodging  about  after  the 

winged  swan  in  fine  style,  getting  gradually  nearer  to  the  rock 

wall,  against  which  the  water  washed  as  he  did  so. 

Suddenly  he  gave  up  swimming  after  the  swan,  and  began 
to  cry  out  that  he  was  being  carried  away  ;  and,  indeed,  we  saw 
that,  though  he  was  swimming  with  all  his  strength  towards  us, 
he  was  being  drawn  slowly  towards  the  precipice.  With  a  few  des- 
perate strokes  of  our  paddles  we  pushed  the  canoe  through  the 
crust  of  drift  and  rowed  towards  the  man  as  hard  as  we  could, 
but,  fast  as  we  went,  he  was  drawn  faster  towards  the  rock. 
Suddenly  I  saw  that  before  us,  just  rising  eighteen  inches  or  so 
above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  was  what  looked  like  the  tOD  of 
the  arch  of  a  submerged  cave  or  railway  tunnel.  Evidently, 
from  the  watermark  on  the  rock  several  feet  above  it,  it  «vas 


Into  tlte  Unknown,  99 

generally  entirely  submerged  ;  but  there  had  been  a  dry  season, 
and  the  cold  had  prevented  the  snow  from  melting  as  freely  as 
usual ;  so  the  lake  was  low  and  the  arch  showed.  Towards 
this  arch  our  poor  servant  was  being  sucked  with  frightful  ra- 
pidity. He  was  not  more  than  twenty  paces  from  it,  and  we 
were  about  thirty  when  I  saw  it,  and  with  little  help  from  us 
the  canoe  flew  along  after  him.  He  struggled  bravely,  and  I 
thought  that  we  should  have  saved  him,  when  suddenly  I  per- 
ceived an  expression  of  despair  come  upon  his  face,  and  there 
before  our  eyes  he  was  sucked  down  into  the  cruel  s^^irHng  blue 
depths,  and  vanished.  At  the  same  moment  I  felt  our  canoe 
seized  as  with  a  mighty  hand,  and  propelled  with  resistless  force 
towards  the  rock. 

We  realised  our  danger  now  and  rowed,  or  rather  paddled, 
furiously  in  our  attempt  to  get  out  of  the  vortex.  In  vain  ;  in 
another  second  we  were  flying  straight  for  the  arch  like  an  ar- 
row, and  I  thought  that  we  were  lost.  Luckily  I  retained 
sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  shout  out,  instantly  setting  the 
example  by  thro\\'ing  myself  into  the  bottom  of  the  canoe, 
*  Down  on  you^  faces — down  ! '  and  the  others  had  the  sense 
to  take  the  hint.  In  another  instant  there  was  a  grinding  noise, 
and  the  boat  was  pushed  down  till  the  water  began  to  trickle 
over  the  sides,  and  I  thought  that  we  were  gone.  But  no,  sud- 
denly the  grinding  ceased,  and  we  could  again  feel  the  canoe 
flying  along.  I  turned  my  head  a  little — I  dared  not  Hft  it — 
and  looked  up.  By  the  feeble  light  that  yet  reached  the  canoe, 
I  could  make  out  that  a  dense  arch  of  rock  hung  just  over  our 
heads,  and  that  was  all.  In  another  minute  I  could  not  even 
see  as  much  as  that,  for  the  faint  light  had  merged  into  shadow, 
and  the  shadows  had  been  swallowed  up  in  darkness,  utter 
and  complete. 

For  an  hour  or  so  we  lay  there,  not  daring  to  lift  our  heads 
for  fear  lest  the  brains  should  be  dashed  out  of  them,  and 
scarcely  able  to  speak  even,  on  account  of  the  noise  of  the  rush- 
ing water  which  drowned  our  voices.  Not,  indeed,  that  we  had 
much  inclination  to  speak,  seeing  that  we  were  overwhelmed 
by  the  awfulness  of  our  position  and  the  imminent  fear  of  in- 
stant death,  either  by  being  dashed  against  the  sides  of  the  cav- 
ern, or  on  a  rock,  or  being  sucked  down  in  the  raging  waters, 
or  perhaps  asphyxiated  by  want  of  air.  All  of  these  and  many 
other  modes  of  death  presented  themselves  to  my  imagination 
as  I  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  hstening  to  the  swirl  of  the 


roo  Allan  Quatcrmain, 

hurrying  waters  which  ran  whither  we  knew  not.  One  only 
other  sound  could  I  hear,  and  that  was  Alphonse's  intermittent 
howl  of  terror  coming  from  the  centre  of  the  canoe,  and  even 
that  seemed  faint  and  unreal.  Indeed,  the  whole  thing  over- 
powered my  brain,  and  I  began  to  believe  that  I  was  the  vic- 
tim of  some  ghastly  spirit-shaking  nightmare. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   ROSE   OF  FIRE. 


On  we  flew,  drawn  by  the  mighty  current,  till  at  last  I  noticed 
that  the  sound  of  the  water  was  not  half  so  deafenins;  as  it  had 
been,  and  concluded  that  this  must  be  because  there  was  more 
room  for  the  echoes  to  disperse  in.  I  could  now  hear  Alphon-je's 
howls  much  more  distinctly  ;  they  were  made  up  of  the  oddest 
mixture  of  invocations  to  the  Supreme  Power  and  the  name  of 
his  beloved  Annette  that  it  is  possible  to  conceive ;  and,  in 
short,  though  their  evident  earnestness  saved  them  from  pro- 
fanity, were,  to  say  the  least,  very  remarkable.*  Taking  up  a 
paddle  I  managed  to  drive  it  into  his  ribs,  whereon  he,  thinking 
that  the  end  had  come,  howled  louder  than  ever.  Then  I  slowly 
and  cautiously  raised  myself  on  my  knees  and  stretched  my 
hand  upwards,  but  could  touch  no  roof.  Next  I  took  the  pad- 
dle and  lifted  it  above  my  head  as  high  as  I  could,  but  with  the 
same  result.  I  also  thrust  it  out  laterally  to  the  right  and  left, 
but  could  touch  nothing  except  water.  Then  I  bethought  me  there 
was  in  the  boat,  amongst  our  other  remaining  possessions,  a 
bull's-eye  lantern  and  a  tin  of  oil.  I  groped  about  and  found 
it,  and  having  a  match  on  me  carefully  lit  it,  and  as  soon  as  the 
flame  got  a  hold  of  the  wick  I  turned  it  on  down  the  boat.  As 
it  happened,  the  first  thing  the  light  lit  on  was  the  white  and 


•  Sir  Henry  afterwards  wrote  down  one  of  Alplionse's  prayers  as  he  overheard 
It.  It  ran  thus:  'Oh,  savo  me!  Take  me  out  of  this  hole!  I  will  pron;isa 
rcTcr  to  go  exploring  again  I  Oh,  Annette,  why  did  I  leave  thee?  Oh,  myt'^lso 
ef>usin  I  Oh,  deliver  me  from  this  horrible  main  drain  1  Never  mind  tlie  others) 
I>*"t  tbem  drown  ;  they  arc  more  used  to  it  than  I  am,  and  they  cannot  cook  I 
Oh  Antiette  I    Annette  [crticendo]  1    Annett*  \^fortiisimo\V 


The  Rose  of  Ftre, .     .->,->>,        toi 

icared  face  of  Alphonse,  who,  thinking  that  it  was  all  over  at 
last,  and  that  he  was  witnessing  a  preliminary  celestial  pheno- 
menon, gave  a  terrific  yell,  and  was  with  difficulty  reassured 
with  the  paddle.     As  for  the  other  three.  Good  was  lying  on  the 
flat  of  his  back,  his  eyeglass  still  fixed  in  his  eye,  and  gazing 
blankly  into  the  upper  darkness.     Sir  Henr)'  had  his  head  rest- 
ing on  the  thwarts  of  the  canoe,  and  with  his  hand  was  trying 
to  test  the  speed  of  the  water.     But  when  the  beam  of  hght 
fell  upon  old  Umslopogaas  I  could  really  have  laughed.  I  think 
I  have  said  that  we  had  put  a  roast  quarter  of  waterbuck  into  the 
canoe.     Well,  it  so  happened  that  when  we  all  prostrated  our- 
selves to  avoid  being  swept  out  of  the  boat  and  into  the  water 
by  the  rock  roof,  Umslopogaas's  head  had  come  down  uncom- 
monly near  this  roast  buck,  and  so  soon  as  he  had  recovered  a 
httle  from  the  first  shock  of  our   position,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  he  was  hungry.     Thereupon  he  coolly  cut  ofif  a  chop  with 
Inkosi-kaas,  and  was  now  employed  in  eating  it  with  every  ap- 
pearance   of    satisfaction.     As    he    afterwards   explained,    he 
thought  that  he  was  going  *  on  a  long  journey  '  and  preferred  to 
start  on  a  full  stomach.     It  reminded  me  of  the  people  who  are 
going  to  be  hanged,  and  who  are  generally  reported  in  the  Eng- 
lish daily  papers  to  have  made  *  an  excellent  breakfast.' 

As  soon  as  the  others  saw  that  I  had  managed  to  light  up 
the  lamp,  we  bundled  Alphonse  into  the  further  end  of  the 
canoe  with  a  threat  which  calmed  him  wonderfully,  that  if  he 
v/ould  insist  upon  making  the  darkness  hideous  with  his  cries 
we  would  put  him  out  of  suspense  by  sending  him  to  join  the 
Wakwafi  and  wait  for  Annette  in  another  sphere,  and  began  to 
discuss  the  situation  as  well  as  we  could.  First,  however,  at 
Good's  suggestion,  we  bound  two  paddles  mast-fashion  in  the 
bows  so  that  they  might  give  us  warning  against  any  sudden 
lowering  of  the  roof  of  the  cave  or  waterway.  It  was  so  clear 
to  us  that  we  were  in  an  underground  river  or,  as  Alphonse  had 
defined  it,  '  main  drain,'  which  carried  off  the  superfluous  water 
of  the  lake.  Such  rivers  are  known  to  exist  in  many  parts  of 
the  world,  but  it  has  not  often  been  the  evil  fortune  of  explorers 
to  travel  by  them.  That  the  river  was  wide  we  could  clearly 
see,  for  the  light  from  the  bull's-eye  lantern  failed  to  reach  from 
shore  to  shore,  although  occasionally,  when  the  current  swept 
us  either  to  one  side  or  the  other,  we  could  distinguish  the  rock 
wall  of  the  tunnel,  which,  as  far  as  we  could  make  out,  appeared 
to  arch  about  twent}'-five  feet  above  our  heads.     As  for  the  cur- 


102  A  I! Hit  Qiiaterviaiiu 

rent  itself,  it  ran,  Good  estimated,  at  least  eight  knots,  and,  for 
tunately  for  us,  was,  as  is  usual,  fiercest  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream.     Still,  our  first  act  was  to  arrange  that  one  of  us,  with 
the  lantern  and  a  pole  there  was  in  the  canoe,  should  always  be 
in  the  bows  ready,  if  possible,  to  prevent  us  from  being  stove 
in  against  the  side  of  the  cave,  or  any  projecting  rock.     Um- 
slopogaas,  having  already  dined,  took  the  first  turn.     This  was 
absolutely,  with  one  exception,  all  that  we  could  do  towards 
preserving  our  safety.     The  exception  was  that  another  of  us 
took  up  a  position  in  the  stern  with  a  paddle,  by  means  of  which 
it  was  possible  to  more  or  less  steer  the  canoe  and  to  keep  her 
from  the  sides  of  the  cave.     These  matters  attended  to,  we  made 
a  somewhat  sparing  meal  off  the  cold  buck's  meat  (for  we  did 
not  know  how  long  it  might  have  to  last  us),  and  then  feeling 
in  rather  better  spirits  I  gave  my  opinion  that,  serious  as  it  un- 
doubtedly was,  I  did  not  consider  our  position  altogether  with- 
out hope,  unless,  indeed,  the  natives  were  right,  and  the  river 
plunged  straight  down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth.     If  not, 
it  was  clear  that  it  must  emerge  somewhere,  probably  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains,  and  in  that  case  all  we  had  to 
think  of  was  to  keep  ourselves  alive  till  we  got  there,  wherever 
'  there '    might  be.      But,    of  course,  as    Good    lugubriously 
pointed  out,  on  the  other  hand  we  might  fall  victims  to  a  hun- 
dred unsuspected  horrors — or  the  river  might  go  winding  away 
inside  the  earth  till  it  dried  up,  in  which  case  our  fate  would 
indeed  be  an  awful  one. 
/       '  Well,  let  us  hope  for  the  best  and  prepare  ourselves  for  the 
\  worst,'  said  Sir  Henry,  who  is  always  cheerful  and  even  spirited 
•  — a  very  tower  of  strength  in  the  time  of  trouble.     *  We  have 
come  out  of  so  many  queer  scrapes  together,  that  somehow  I 
almost  fancy  we  shall  come  out  of  this,'  he  added. 

This  was  excellent  advice,  and  we  proceeded  to  take  it  each 
in  our  separate  way — that  is,  except  Alphonse,  who  had  by  now 
sunk  into  a  sort  of  terrified  stupor.  Good  was  at  the  helm  and 
UinsloiX)gaas  in  the  bows,  so  there  was  nothing  left  for  Sir 
Henry  and  myself  to  do  except  to  lie  down  in  the  canoe  and 
think.  It  certainly  was  a  curious,  and  indeed  almost  a  weird, 
position  to  be  i)laced  in — rushing  along,  as  we  were,  through 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  borne  on  the  bosom  of  a  sort  of  Sty- 
gian river,  something  after  the  fashion  of  souls  being  ferried  by 
Charon,  as  Curtis  said.  And  how  dark  it  was  !  the  feeble  ray 
from  our  little  Ijh-.d  did  jj.it  serve  to  slu-w  tlic  darkness.   There 


The  Rose  of  Fire.  1 03 

fa  the  bows  sat  old  Ums'opogaas,  like  Pleasure  in  the  poem,* 
watchful  and  untiring,  the  pole  ready  to  his  hand,  and  behind 
in  the  shadow  I  could  just  make  out  the  form  of  Good  peering 
iorward  at  the  ray  of  light  in  order  to  make  out  how  to  steer 
with  the  paddle  that  he  held  and  now  and  again  dipped  in 
the  water. 

'  Well,  well,'  thought  I,  *  you  have  come  in  search  of  adven- 
tures, Allan,  my  boy,  and  you  have  certainly  got  them.  At  your 
time  of  life,  too  !  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself ;  but 
somehow  you  aren't,  and,  awful  as  it  all  is,  perhaps  you  will  pull 
through  after  all ;  and  if  you  don't,  why  you  can't  help  it,  you 
see  !  And  when  all's  said  and  done  an  underground  river  will 
make  a  very  appropriate  burying-place.' 

At  first,  however,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  strain  upon  the : 
nerves  was  very  great.  It  is  tr}'ing  to  the  coolest  and  most 
experienced  person  not  to  know  from  one  hour  to  another  if  he 
has  five  minutes  more  to  hve,  but  there  is  nothing  in  this  world:; 
that  one  cannot  get  accustomed  to,  and  in  time  we  began  to 
get  accustomed  even  to  that^And,  after  all,  our  anxiety,  though 
no  doubt  natural,  was,  strictly  speaking,  illogical,  seeing  that 
we  never  know  what  is  g'>ing  to  happen  to  us  the  next  min- 
ute, even  when  we  sit  in  a  well-drained  house  with  two  po- 
licemen patrolling  under  the  window — nor  how  long  we  have 
to  live.  It  is  all  arranged  for  us,  my  sons,  so  what  is  the  use 
of  bothering? 

It  was  nearly  midday  when  we  made  our  dive  into  darkness, 
and  we  had  set  our  watch  (Good  and  Umslopogaas)  at  two, 
having  agreed  that  it  should  be  of  a  duration  of  five  hours.  At 
seven  o'clock  accordingly.  Sir  Henry  and  I  went  on.  Sir  Henry 
at  the  bow  and  I  at  the  stern,  and  the  other  two  lay  down  and 
went  to  sleep.  For  three  hours  all  went  well.  Sir  Henry  only 
nnding  it  necessary  to  once  push  us  off  from  the  side ;  and  I 
that  but  little  steering  was  required  to  keep  us  straight,  as  the 
violent  current  did  all  that  was  needed,  though  occasionally 
the  canoe  showed  a  tendency  which  had  to  be  guarded  against 
to  veer  and  travel  broadside  on.  What  struck  me  as  the  most 
curious  thing  about  this  wonderful  river  was  :  how  did  the  air 
keep  fresh?  It  was  mugg)'  and  thick,  no  doubt,  but  still  not 
sufficiently  so  to  render  it  bad  or  even  remarkably  unpleasant. 
The  only  explanation  that  I  can  suggest  is  that  the  water  of 

•  Mr.  Allan  Quaterraain  misquotes — Pleasiire  sat  at  the  helm. 


I04  Allan  Quatermain, 

the  lake  had  sufficient  air  in  it  to  keep  the  atmosphere  of  the 
tunnel  from  absolute  stagnation,  this  air  being  given  out  as 
it  proceeded  on  its  headlong  way.  Of  course  I  only  give 
this  solution  of  the  mystery  for  what  it  is  worth,  which  per- 
haps is  not  much. 

When  I  had  been  for  three  hours  or  so  at  the  helm,  I  began 
to  notice  a  decided  change  in  the  temperature,  which  was  get- 
ting warmer.  At  first  I  took  no  notice  of  it,  but  when,  at  the 
expiration  of  another  half-hour,  I  found  that  it  was  getting 
hotter  and  hotter,  I  called  to  Sir  Henry  and  asked  him  if  he 
noticed  it  or  if  it  was  only  my  imagination.  '  Noticed  it  ?  '  he 
answered ;  '  I  should  think  so.  I  am  in  a  sort  of  Turkish  bath.' 
Just  about  then  the  others  woke  up  gasping,  and  vs^ere  obliged 
to  begin  to  discard  their  clothes.  Here  Umslopogaas  had  the 
advantage,  for  he  did  not  wear  any  to  speak  of,  except  a 
moocha. 

Hotter  it  grew,  and  hotter  yet,  till  at  last  we  could  scarcely 
breathe,  and  the  perspiration  poured  out  of  us.  Half  an  hour 
more,  and  though  we  were  all  now  stark  naked,  we  could  hardly 
bear  it.  The  place  was  like  an  ante-chamber  of  the  infernal 
regions  proper.  I  dipped  my  hand  into  the  water  and  drew 
it  out  almost  with  a  cry  ;  it  was  nearly  boiling.  We  consulted 
a  little  thermometer  we  had — the  mercury  stood  at  123.  From 
the  surface  of  the  water  rose  a  dense  cloud  of  steam.  Alphonse 
groaned  out  that  we  were  already  in  purgatory,  which  indeed 
we  were,  though  not  in  the  sense  that  he  meant  it.  Sir  Henry 
suggested  that  we  must  be  passing  near  the  seat  of  some  under- 
ground volcanic  fire,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think,  especially  in 
the  light  of  what  subsequently  occurred,  that  he  was  right. 
Our  sufferings  for  some  time  after  this  really  pass  my  powers 
of  description.  We  no  longer  pers})ired,  for  all  the  perspira- 
tion had  been  sweated  out  of  us.  We  simply  lay  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat,  which  we  were  now  physically  incapable  of 
directing,  feeling  like  hot  embers,  and  I  fancy  undergoing  very 
much  the  same  sensations  that  the  poor  fish  do  when  they  3re 
dying  on  land,  namely,  that  of  slow  suffocation.  Our  skins 
began  to  crack,  and  the  blood  to  throb  in  our  heads  like  the 
beating  of  a  steam-engine. 

This  had  been  going  on  for  some  time,  when  suddenly  the 
river  turned  a  little,  and  I  heard  Sir  Henry  call  out  from  ,*he 
bows  in  a  hoarse,  startled  voice,  and,  looking  up,  saw  a  most 
wonderful  and  awful  thing.   About  half  a  mile  ahead  of  us,  and 


The  Rose  of  Fin,  I05 

a  little  to  the  left  of  the  centre  of  the  stream-which  we  could 
now  .ee  was  about  ninety  feet  broad— a  huge  piUar-like  iet  of 
a  most  whue  flame  rose  from  the  surface  of  tie  Ler  and  s^ 
fifty  leet  into  the  au-,  when  it  struck  the  roof  and  spread  out 
some  forty  feet  m  diameter,  falling  back  in  curved  sheets  of  fire 
shaped  like  the  petals  of  a  full-blown  rose.  Indeed  this  awful 
gas  jet  resembled  nothmg  so  much  as  a  great  flaming  flower 
rising  out  or  the  black  water.  Below  was  the  straigrftalk  a 
foot  or  more  thick,  and  above  the  dreadful  bloom.  And  as 
for  the  fearfulness  of  it  and  its  fierce  and  awesome  beauty,  who 
can  descnbe  it  ?    Certainly  I  cannot.     Although  we  were  now 

^^?r.  th?  ^1  ^^"^  ^^'^'  ^,^^y'  ^''  notwithstanding  the  steam, 
ht  up  the  whole  cavern  as  clear  as  day,  and  we  could  see  thaJ 
the  roof  was  here  about  forty  feet  above  us,  and  washed  per- 
fectly smooth  with  water.  The  rock  was  black,  and  here  and 
here  I  could  make  out  long  shining  Hnes  of  ore  running 
through  it  like  great   veins,  but   of  what  metal  they  were  I 


On  we  rushed  towards  this  pillar  of  fire,  which  gleamed  fiercer 
than  any  furnace  ever  ht  by  man. 

JKeep  the  boat  to  the  right,  Quatermain-to  the  right 
shouted  Sir  Henry,  and  a  minute  after^vards  I  saw  him  fall 
forward  senseless.  Alphonse  had  already  gone.  Good  was 
the  next  to  go  There  they  lay  as  though  dead ;  only  Um- 
slopogaas  and  I  kept  our  senses.  We  were  within  fifty  yards 
of  It  now  and  I  saw  the  Zulu's  head  fall  forward  on  his 
hands.  He  had  gone,  too,  and  I  was  alone.  I  could  not 
breathe ;  the  fierce  heat  dried  me  up.  For  yards  and  yards 
round  the  great  rose  of  fire  the  rock-roof  was  red-hot  The 
wood  of  the  boat  was  almost  burning.  I  saw  the  feathers  on 
one  of  the  dead  swans  begin  to  twist  and  shrivel  up  •  but  I 
would  not  give  in  I  knew  that  \i  I  did  we  should  pa^s  within 
three  or  four  yards  of  the  gas  jet  and  perish  miserably  I 
set  the  paddle  so  as  to  turn  the  canoe  as  far  firom  it  as  oossi 
ble,  and  held  on  grimly.  ^ 

My  eyes  seemed  to  be  bursting  from  my  head,  and  through 
my  closed  lids  I  could  see  the  fierce  light.  We  were  nea?lv 
opposite  now :  it  roared  like  all  the  fires  of  hell,  and  the  water 
boiled  furiously  around  it.  Five  seconds  more.  We  were  Dast  • 
I  heard  the  roar  behind  me.  ^      ' 

Then  I,  too,  fell  senseless.  The  next  thing  that  I  remember 
was  leeling  a  breath  of  au  uoon  my  face.     My  eyes  opened 


io6  Allan  Quatermain. 

with  great  difficulty.     I  looked  up.     Far,  far  above  me  there 
was  light,  though  around  me  was  deep  gloom.     Then  I  remem- 
bered and  looked.     The  canoe  still  floated  down  the   river, 
and  in  the  bottom  of  it  lay  the  naked  forms  of  my  companions. 
'  Were     they  dead  ?  '     I  wondered.     '  Was  I  left  alone  in  this 
awful  place  ? '     I  knew  not.     Next  I  became  conscious  of  a 
burning  thirst.     I  put  my  hand  over  the  edge  of  the  boat  into 
the   water  and  drew   it  up   again   with  a   cry.      No  wonder ; 
nearly  all   the  skin  was  burnt  off  the  back  of  it.     The  water, 
however,  was  cold,  or  nearly  so,  and  I  drank  pints  and  splashed 
myself  all  over.     My  body  seemed  to  suck  up  the  fluid  as  one 
may  see  a  brick  wall  suck  up  rain  after  a  drought ;  but  where  I 
was  burnt  the  touch  of  it  caused  intense  pain.     Then  I  be- 
thought myself  of  the  others,  and,  dragging  myself  towards  them 
with  difficulty,  I  sprinkled  them  with  water,  and  to  my  joy  they 
began  to  recover — Umslopogaas  first,  then  the  others.     Next 
they   drank,  absorbing  water  like   so   many    sponges.     Then 
feeling  chilly — a  queer  contrast   to  our  recent  sensations — we 
began  as   best  we   could    to   get   into  our  clothes.      As   we 
did  so  Good  pointed  to  the  port  side  of  the  canoe  :  it  was  all 
blistered  with   heat,  and   in   places   actually  charred.     Had  it 
been  built  like  our  civilised  boats,  Good  said  that  the  planks 
would  have  certainly  warped  and   let  in  enough  water  to  sink 
us ;  but  fortunately  it  was  dug  out  of  the  soft,  willowy  wood 
of  a  single  great  tree,  and  had  sides  nearly  three  inches  and  a 
bottom  four  inches  thick.    What  that  awful  flame  was  we  never 
discovered,  but   I  suppose  that  there  was  at  this  spot  a  crack 
or  hole  in  the  bed  of  the  river  through  which  a  vast  volume  of 
gas  forced  its  way  from  its  volcanic  home  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  towards  the  upper  air.     How  it  first  became  ignited  it  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  say — probably,  I   should  think,  from 
some  spontaneous  explosion  of  mephitic  gases. 

As  soon  as  we  had  got  some  things  on  and  shaken  ourselves 
together  a  little,  we  set  to  work  to  make  out  where  we  were 
now.  I  have  said  that  there  was  light  above,  and  on  examina- 
tion we  found  that  it  came  from  the  sky.  Our  river  that  was, 
Sir  Henry  said,  a  literal  realization  of  the  wild  vision  of  the 
poet,*  was  no  longer  underground,  but  was  running  on  its  darlt- 

•  In  Kubla  Khan  a  river  ran 
Throup^h  carems  measureless  to  man 
Duwn  to  a  sunless  sea. 


The  Rose  of  Fire,  107 

some  way,  not  now  through  *  caverns  measureless  to  man,'  but 
between  two  frightful  cliffs  which  cannot  have  been  less  than 
two  thousand  feet  high.  So  high  were  they,  indeed,  that  though 
*he  sky  was  above  us,  where  we  were  was  dense  gloom — not 
iarkness  indeed,  but  the  gloom  of  a  room  closely  shuttered  in 
the  daytime.  Up  on  either  side  rose  the  great  straight  cliffs, 
grim  and  forbidding,  till  the  eye  grew  dizzy  with  trying  to 
measure  their  sheer  height.  The  little  space  of  sky  that  marked 
where  they  ended  lay  like  a  thread  of  blue  upon  their  soaring 
blackness,  which  was  unrelieved  by  any  tree  or  creeper.  Here 
and  there,  however,  grew  ghostly  patches  of  a  long  grey  lichen, 
hanging  motionless  to  the  rock  as  the  white  beard  to  the  chin 
of  a  dead  man.  It  seemed  as  though  only  the  dregs  or  heavier 
part  of  the  light  had  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  this  awful  place. 
No  bright- winged  sunbeam  could  fall  so  low  :  they  died  far,  far 
above  our  heads. 

By  the  rivers  edge  was  a  little  shore  formed  of  round  frag- 
ments of  rock  washed  into  this  shape  by  the  constant  action  of 
water,  and  giving  the  place  the  appearance  of  being  strewn  with 
thousands  of  fossil  cannon  balls.  Evidently  when  the  water  of 
the  underground  river  is  high  there  is  no  beach  at  all,  or  very 
little,  between  the  border  of  the  stream  and  the  precipitous 
cliffs ;  but  now  there  was  a  space  of  seven  or  eight  yards.  And 
here,  on  this  beach,  we  determined  to  land,  in  order  to  rest  our- 
selves a  little  after  all  that  we  had  gone  through  and  to  stretch 
our  limbs.  It  was  a  dreadful  place,  but  it  would  give  an  hour's 
respite  from  the  terrors  of  the  river,  and  also  allow  of  our  re- 
packing and  arranging  the  canoe.  Accordingly  we  selected 
?vhat  looked  like  a  favourable  spot,  and  with  some  little  diffi- 
:ulty  managed  to  beach  the  canoe  and  scramble  out  on  to  the 
round,  inhospitable  pebbles. 

'My  woid,'  called  out  Good,  who  was  on  shore  the  first, 
*  what  an  awful  place  !  it's  enough  to  give  one  a  fit.'  And  he 
laughed. 

Instantly  a  thundering  voice  took  up  his  words,  magnifying 
them  a  hundred  times.  '  Give  o?ie  a  fit — Ho  !  ho  /  ho  P — ^  A 
fit^  Ho  I  ho  I  ho  f  ^  answered  another  voice  in  wild  accents  from 
far  up  the  cHff — a  fit!  a  fit  I  a  fit  f  chimed  in  voice  after 
voice — each  flinging  the  words  to  and  fro  with  shouts  of  awful 
laughter  to  the  invisible  hps  of  the  other  till  the  whole  place 
echoed  with  the  words  and  with  shrieks  of  fiendish  merriment, 
which  at  last  ceased  as  suddenly  as  they  had  begun. 


io8  Allan  Quatermain, 

*  Oh,  mon  Dieu  ! '  yelled  Alphonse,  startled  quite  out  of  such 
self-command  as  he  possessed. 

'  Mon  Dieu  /  Mon  Dieu  I  Mon  Dieu  I '  the  Titanic  echoes 
thundered,  shrieked,  and  wailed  in  every  conceivable  tone. 

'  Ah,'  said  Umslopogaas  calmly,  '  I  clearly  perceive  that 
devils  live  here.     Well,  the  place  looks  like  it.' 

I  tried  to  explain  to  him  that  the  cause  of  all  the  hubbub  was 
a  very  remarkable  and  interesting  echo,  but  he  would  not  be- 
lieve it. 

*  Ah,'  he  said,  *  I  know  an  echo  when  I  hear  it.  There  was 
one  lived  opposite  my  kraal  in  Zululand,  and  the  Intombis 
[maidens]  used  to  talk  with  it.  But  if  what  we  hear  is  a  full- 
grown  echo,  mine  at  home  can  only  have  been  a  baby.  No, 
no — they  are  devils  up  there.  But  I  don't  think  much  of  then: 
though,'  he  added,  taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  '  They  can  copy 
what  one  says,  but  they  don't  seem  to  be  able  to  talk  on  their 
own  account,  and  they  dare  not  show  their  faces,'  and  he  relapsed 
into  silence,  and  apparently  paid  no  further  attention  to  such 
contemptible  fiends. 

Atter  this  we  found  it  necessary  to  keep  our  conversation 
down  to  a  whisper — for  it  was  really  unbearable  to  have  every 
word  one  uttered  tossed  to  and  fro  like  a  tennis-ball,  as  preci- 
pice called  to  precipice. 

But  even  our  whispers  ran  up  the  rocks  in  mysterious  mur- 
murs till  at  last  they  died  away  in  long-drawn  sighs  of  sound. 
Echoes  are  delightful  and  romantic  things,  but  we  had  more 
than  enough  of  them  in  that  dreadful  gulf. 

As  soon  as  we  had  settled  ourselves  a  little  on  the  round 
stones,  we  proceeded  to  wash  ourselves  and  dress  our  burns  as 
well  as  we  could.  As  we  had  but  a  little  oil  for  the  lantern,  we 
could  not  s])are  any  for  this  purpose,  so  we  skinned  one  of  the 
swans  and  used  the  fat  off  its  breast,  which  proved  an  excellent 
substitute.  Then  we  repacked  the  canoe,  and  finally  proceeded 
to  take  some  food,  of  which  I  need  scarcely  say  we  were  in 
need,  for  our  insensibility  had  endured  for  many  hours,  and  it 
was,  as  our  watches  showed,  mid-day.  Accordingly  we  seated 
ourselves  in  a  circle,  and  were  soon  engaged  in  discussing  our 
cold  meat  with  such  appetite  as  we  could  muster,  which,  in  my 
case  at  any  rate,  was  not  much,  as  I  felt  sick  and  faint  after  my 
suffering  of  the  previous  night,  and  had  besides  a  racking  head- 
ache. It  was  a  curious  meal.  The  gloom  was  so  intense  that 
wc  could  scarcely  see  the  way  to  cut  our  food  and  convey  it  to 


The  Rose  of  Fire,  109 

our  mouths.     Still   we  got  on   pretty  well,  although  the  meat 
was  tainted  by  the  heat  through  which  it  had  passed,  till  I  hap- 
pened to  look  behind  me — my  attention  being  attracted  by  a 
noise  of  something  crawling  over  the  stones,  and  perceived  sit- 
ting upon  a  rock  in  my  immediate  rear  a  huge  species  of  black 
freshwater  crab,  only  it  was  five  times  the  size  of  any  crab  I 
ever  saw.     This   hideous   and  loathsome-looking  animal  had 
projecting  eyes  that  seemed  to  glare  at  one,  very  long  and  flex- 
ible antenna  or  feelers,   and  gigantic  claws.     Nor  was  I  espe- 
cially favoured  with  its  company.     From  every  quarter  dozens  of 
these  horrid  brutes  came  creeping  up,  drawn,  I  suppose,  by  the 
smell  of  the  food,  from  between  the  round  stones  and  out  of 
holes  in  the  precipice.     Some  were  already  quite  close  to  us. 
I  stared  quite  fascinated  by  the  unusual  sight,  and  as  I  did  so  I 
saw  one  of  the  beasts  stretch  out  its  huge  claw  and  give  the  unsus- 
pecting Good  such  a  nip  behind  that  he  jumped  up  with  a  howl, 
and  set  the  *  wild  echoes  flying '  in  sober  earnest.     Just  then, 
too,  another,  a  very  large  one,  got  hold  of  Alphonse's  leg,  and 
declined  to  part  with  it,  and,  as  may  be  imagined,  a  consider- 
able scene  ensued.     Umslopogaas  took  his  axe  and  cracked  the 
shell  of  one  with  the  flat  of  it,  whereon  it  set  up  a  horrid  sort 
of  screaming  which  the  echoes  multiplied  a  thousandfold,  and 
began  to  foam  at  the  mouth,  a  proceeding  that  drew  hundreds 
more   of  its  friends   out   of  unsuspected   holes  and   corners. 
Those  on  the  spot  perceiving  that  the  animal  was  hurt  fell  upon 
it  like  creditors  on  a  bankrupt,   and  literally  rent  it  limb  from 
Hmb  with  their  huge  pincers  and  devoured  it,  using  their  claws 
to  convey  the  fragments  to  their  mouths.     Seizing  whatever 
weapons  were  handy,  such  as  stones  or  paddles,  we  commenced 
a  war  upon  the  monsters — whose  numbers  were  increasing  by 
leaps  and  bounds,  and  whose  stench  was  overpowering.     So  fast 
as  we  cracked  their  armour  others  seized  the  injured  ones  and 
devoured  them,  foaming  at  the  mouth,   and  screaming  as  they 
did  so.     Nor  did  the  brutes  stop   at  that.     When  they  could 
they  nipped  hold  of  us — and  awful  nips  they  were — or  tried  to 
steal  the  meat.     One  enormous  fellow  got  hold  of  the  swan  we 
had  skinned  and  began  to  drag  it  off.     Instantly  a  score  of 
others  flung  themselves  upon  the  prey,  and  then  began  a  ghastly 
and  disgusting  scene.     How  the  monsters  foamed  and  scream- 
ed, and  rent  the  flesh,  and  each  other  !     It  was  a  sickening  and 
unnatural  sight,  and  one  that  will  haunt  all  who  saw  it  to  their 
dying  day — enacted  as  it  was  in  tne  deep  oppressive  gloom,  and 


no  AUa7i  Quatennain, 

set  to  the  unceasing  music  of  the  many-toned  nen'e-shab^g 
echoes.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  say  so,  there  was  something 
so  shockingly  human  about  these  fiendish  creatures— it  was  as 
though  all  the  most  evil  passions  and  desires  of  man  had  got 
into  the  shell  of  a  magnified  crab  and  gone  mad.  They  were 
so  dreadfully  courageous  and  intelligent,  and  they  looked  as  if 
they  understood.  The  whole  scene  might  have  furnished  material 
for  another  canto  of  Dante's  '  Inferno,'  as  Curtis  said. 

*  I  say,  you  fellows,  let's  get  out  of  this  or  we  shall  all  go  off 
our  heads,'  sung  out  Good  ;  and  we  were  not  slow  to  take  the 
hint.  Pushing  the  canoe,  around  which  the  animals  were  now 
crawling  by  hundreds  and  making  vain  attempts  to  climb,  off 
the  rocks,  we  bundled  into  it  and  got  out  into  mid-stream, 
leaving  behind  us  the  fragments  of  our  meal  and  the  scream- 
ing, foaming,  stinking  mass  of  monsters  in  full  possession  of 
the  grounds. 

*  Those  are  the  devils  of  the  place,'  said  Umslopogaas  with 
the  air  of  one  who  has  solved  a  problem,  and  upon  my  word  I 
felt  almost  inclined  to  agree  with  him. 

Umslopogaas's  rem.arks  were  like  his  axe — very  much  to  the 
point. 

'  What's  to  be  done  next  ? '  said  Sir  Henry,  blankly. 

*  Drift,  I  suppose,'  I  answered,  and  we  drifted  accordingly. 
All  the  afternoon  and  well  into  the  evening  we  floated  on  in  the 
gloom  beneath  the  far-off  line  of  blue  sky,  scarcely  knowing 
when  day  ended  and  night  began,  for  down  in  that  vast  gulf 
the  difference  was  not  marked,  till  at  length  Good  pointed  out 
a  star  hanging  right  above  us,  which,  having  nothing  better  to 
do,  we  observed  wifh  great  interest.  Suddenly  it  vanished,  the 
darkness  became  intense,  and  a  familiar  murmuring  sound  fill- 
ed the  air.  •  Underground  again,'  I  said  with  a  groan,  holding 
up  the  lamp.  Yes,  there  was  no  doubt  about  it.  I  could  just 
make  out  the  roof.  The  chasm  had  come  to  an  end  and  the 
tunnel  had  recommenced.  And  then  began  another  long,  long 
night  of  danger  and  horror.  To  describe  all  its  incidents 
would  be  too  wearisome,  so  I  will  simply  say  that  about  mid- 
night we  struck  on  a  flat  projecting  rock  in  mid-stream  and 
were  as  neariy  as  possible  overturned  and  drowned.  However, 
at  last  we  got  off,  and  proceeded  upon  the  uneven  tenor  of  our 
way.  And  so  the  hours  passed  till  it  was  neariy  three  o'clock. 
Sir  Henry,  Good,  and  Alphonse  were  asleep,  utterly  worn  out : 
Umslopogaas  was  at  the  bow  with  the  pole,  and  I   was  steering 


The  Frowning  City.  Ill 

when  I  perceived  that  the  rate  at  which  we  were  travelling  had 
perceptibly  increased.  Then,  suddenly,  I  heard  Umslopo 
gaas  make  an  exclamation,  and  next  second  came  a  sound  as 
of  parting  branches,  and  I  became  aware  that  the  canoe  was 
being  forced  through  hanging  bushes  or  creepers.  Another 
minute,  and  a  breath  of  sweet  open  air  fanned  my  face,  and  I 
felt  that  we  had  emerged  from  the  tunnel  and  were  floating 
upon  clear  water.  I  say  felt,  for  I  could  see  nothing,  the  dark- 
ness being  absolutely  pitchy,  as  it  often  is  just  before  the  dawn. 
But  even  this  could  scarcely  damp  my  joy.  We  were  out  of 
that  dreadful  river,  and  wherever  we  might  have  got  to  this  at 
least  was  something  to  be  thankful  for.  And  so  I  sat  down  and 
inhaled  the  sweet  night  air  and  waited  for  the  dawn  with  such 
patience  as  I  could  command. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   FROWNING   CITY. 


For  an  hour  or  more  I  sat  waiting  (Umslopogaas  having  mean- 
while gone  to  sleep  also)  till  at  length  the  east  turned  grey,  and 
huge  misty  shapes  moved  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  like 
ghosts  of  long-forgotten  dawns.  They  were  the  vapours  rising 
from  their  watery  bed  to  greet  the  sun.  Then  the  grey  turned  to 
primrose,  and  the  primrose  grew  to  red.  Next,  glorious  bars  of 
light  sprang  up  across  the  eastern  sky,  and  through  them  the 
radiant  messengers  of  the  dawn  came  speeding  upon  their  ar- 
rowy way,  scattering  the  ghostly  vapours  and  awaking  the  moun- 
tains with  a  kiss,  as  they  flew  from  range  to  range  and  longi- 
tude to  longitude.  Another  moment,  and  the  golden  gates 
were  open  and  the  sun  himself  came  forth  as  a  bridegroom  from 
his  chamber,  with  pomp  and  glory  and  a  flashing  as  of  ten  mil- 
lion spears,  and  embraced  the  night  and  covered  her  with 
brightness,  and  it  was  day. 

But  as  yet  I  could  see  nothing  save  the  beautiful  blue  sky 
above,  for  over  the  water  was  a  thick  layer  of  mist  exactly  as 
though  the  whole  surface  had  been  covered  with  billows  of 
cotton  wool     By  degrees,  however,  the  sun   sucked  up  the 


112  Allan  Qudtermain, 

mists,  and  then  I  saw  that  we  were  afloat  upon  a  glorious  sheet 
of  blue  water  of  which  I  could  not  make  out  the  shore.     Some 
eight  or  ten  miles  behind  us,  however,  there  stretched  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  a  range  of  precipitous  hills  that  formed  a 
retaining  wall  of  the  lake,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  was 
through  some  entrance  in  these  hills  that  the  subterranean  river 
found  its  way  into  the  open  water.     Indeed,  I  afterwards  ascer- 
tained this  to  be  the  fact,  and  it  will  be  some  indication  of  the 
extraordinary  strength  and  directness  of  the  current  of  the  mys- 
terious river  that  the  canoe,  even  at  this  distance  was  still  an- 
swering to  it.     Presently,  too,  I,   or  rather  Umslopogaas,   who 
woke  up  just  then,  discovered  another  indication,   and  a  very 
unpleasant  one  it  was.     Perceiving  some  whitish  object  upon 
the  water,  Umslopogaas  called  my  attention  to  it,   and  with  a 
few  strokes  of  the  paddle  brought  the  canoe  to  the  spot,  where- 
upon we  discovered  that  the  object  was  the  body  of  a  man 
floating  face  downwards.     This  was  bad  enough,   but  imagine 
my  horror  when,  Umslopogaas  having  turned  him  on  to  his  back 
with  the  paddle,  we  recognised  in  the  sunken  features  the  linea- 
ments of whom  do  you  suppose  ?     None   other   than  our 

poor  servant  who  had  been  sucked  down  two  days  before  in  the 
waters  of  the  subterranean  river.  It  gave  me  quite  a  turn.  I 
thought  that  we  had  left  him  behind  forever,  and  behold  !  borne 
by  the  current,  he  had  made  the  awful  journey  with  us,  and 
with  us  had  reached  the  end.  His  appearance  also  was  very 
drcadfuJ.  He  had  been  a  black  man,  now  he  was  a  livid  white, 
for  the  boiling  water  had  scalded  off  nearly  all  his  outer  skin. 
Also  he  bore  traces  of  having  touched  the  pillar  of  fire — one 
arm  being  completely  shrivelled  up  and  all  his  hair  being  burnt 
off".  The  features  were,  as  1  have  said,  sunken,  and  yet  they 
preserved  upon  them  that  awful  look  of  despair  that  I  had  seen 
upon  his  living  face  as  the  poor  fellow  was  sucked  down.  Really 
the  sight  quite  unnerved  me,  weary  and  shaken  as  I  felt  with  all 
that  we  had  gone  through,  and  I  was  heartily  glad  when  sud- 
denly and  without  any  warning  the  body  began  to  sink  just  as 
though  it  had  had  a  mission,  which,  having  been  accomplished, 
it  retired  ;  the  real  reason  no  doubt  being  that  turning  it  on  its 
back  allowed  a  free  passage  to  the  gas.  Down  it  went  into  the 
transparent  depths — fathom  after  fathom  we  could  trace  its 
course  till  at  last  a  long  line  of  bright  air-bubbles,  swiftly  chas- 
ing each  other  to  the  surface,  alone  remained  where  it  had 
passed.     At  length  these,  too,  were  gone,  and  that  was  an  end 


Thi  Frowning  City.  1 13 

of  our  poor  servant.      Umsiopogaas  thoughtfully  watched  the 
body  vanish, 

*  What  did  he  follow  us  for  ? '  he  asked.  '  'Tis  an  ill  omen 
for  thee  and  me,  Macumazahn.'     And  he  laughed. 

I  turned  on  him  angrily,  for  I  dislike  these  unpleasant  sug- 
gestions. If  people  have  such  ideas,  they  ought  in  common 
decency  to  keep  them  to  themselves.  I  detest  individuals  who 
make  one  the  subject  of  their  disagreeable  presentiments,  or 
who,  when  they  dream  that  they  saw  one  hanged  as  a  common 
felon,  or  some  such  horror,  will  insist  upon  telling  one  all  about 
it  at  breakfast,  even  if  they  have  to  get  up  early  to  do  it. 

Just  then,  however,  the  others  woke  up  and  began  to  rejoice 
exceedingly  at  finding  that  we  were  out  of  that  dreadful  river 
and  once  more  beneath  the  blue  sky.  Then  followed  a  babel 
of  talk  and  suggestions  as  to  what  we  where  to  do  next,  the  up- 
shot of  all  of  which  was  that  as  we  were  excessively  hungr}',  and 
had  nothing  whatsoever  left  to  eat  except  a  few  scraps  of  biltong 
(dried  game-flesh),  having  abandoned  all  that  remained  of  our 
provisions  to  those  horrible  freshwater  crabs,  we  determined  to 
make  for  the  shore.  But  now  a  new  difficulty  arose.  We  did 
not  know  where  the  shore  was,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
clififs  through  which  the  subterranean  river  made  its  entry, 
could  see  nothing  but  a  wide  expanse  of  sparkling  blue  water. 
Observing,  ho'.vever,  that  the  long  flights  of  aquatic  birds  kept 
flying  from  our  left,  we  concluded  that  they  were  advancing 
from  their  feeding-grounds  on  shore  to  pass  the  day  in  the  lake, 
and  accordingly  headed  the  boat  towards  the  quarter  whence 
they  came,  and  began  to  paddle.  Before  long,  however,  a 
stiffish  breeze  sprang  up,  blo"\ving  directly  in  the  direction  we 
wanted,  so  we  improvised  a  sail  with  a  blanket  and  the  pole, 
which  took  us  along  merrily.  This  done,  we  proceeded  to 
devour  the  remnants  of  our  biltong,  washed  down  with  the 
sweet  lake  water,  and  then  lit  our  pipes  and  awaited  whatever 
might  turn  up. 

When  we  had  been  sailing  for  an  hour,  Good,  who  was 
searching  the  horizon  with  the  spy-glass,  suddenly  announced 
joyfully  that  he  saw  land,  and  pointed  out  that,  from  the  change 
in  the  colour  of  the  water,  he  thought  we  must  be  approaching 
the  mouth  of  a  river.  In  another  minute  we  perceived  a  great 
golden  dome,  not  unhke  that  of  St.  Paul's,  piercing  the  morning 
mists,  and  while  we  were  wondering  what  in  the  world  it  could 
be,  Good  reported  another  and  still  more  important  discovery, 
8 


114  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

namely,  that  a  small  sailin'];-boat  was  advancing  towards  us. 
This  bit  of  news,  which  we  were  very  shortly  able  to  verify  with 
our  own  eyes,  threw  us  into  a  considerable  flutter.  That  the 
natives  of  this  unknown  lake  should  understand  the  art  of  sail- 
ing seemed  to  suggest  that  they  possessed  some  degree  of  civ- 
ilisation. In  a  few  more  minutes  it  became  evident  that  the 
occupant  or  occupants  of  the  advancing  boat  had  made  us  out. 
For  a  moment  or  two  she  hung  in  the  wind  as  though  in  doubt, 
and  then  came  tacking  towards  us  with  great  swiftness.  In 
ten  more  minutes  she  was  within  a  hundred  yards,  and  we  saw 
that  she  was  a  neat  little  boat — not  a  canoe  '  dug  out,'  but , 
built  more  or  less  in  the  European  fashion  with  planks,  and 
carrying  a  singularly  large  sail  for  her  size.  But  our  attention 
was  soon  diverted  from  the  boat  to  her  crew,  which  consisted 
of  a  man  and  woman,  nearly  as  white  as  ourselves. 

We  stared  at  each  other   in   amazement,  thinking  that  we 
must  be  mistaken  ;  but  no,  there  was  no  doubt  about  it.    They 
were  not  fair,  but  the  two  people  in  the  boat  were  decidedly  of 
a  white  as  distinguished  from  a  black  race,  as  white,  for  in- 
stance, as  Spaniards  or  Italians.     It  was  a  patent  fact.     So  it 
was  true,  after  all ;   and,  mysteriously  led  by  a  Power  beyond 
our  own,  we  had  discovered  this  wonderful  people.     I  could 
have  shouted  for  joy  when  I  thought  of  the  glory  and  the  won- 
der of  the  thing  ;  and  as  it  was,  we  all  shook  hands  and  con- 
gratulated esLch  other  on  the  unexpected  success  of  our  wild 
search.     All  my  life  had  I  heaid  rumours  of  a  white  race  that 
existed  in  the  highlands  of  the  interior  of  this  vast   continent, 
and  longed  to  put  them   to  the  proof,  and  now  here  I  saw  it 
with  my  own  eyes,  and  was  dumbfounded.    Truly,  as  Sir  Henry 
said,  the  old  Roman  was  right  when  he  wrote  '  Ex  Africa  sem- 
per aliquid  novi,'  which  he  tells  me  means  that  out  of  Africa 
there  always  comes  some  new  thing. 

The  man  in  the  boat  was  of  a  good  but  not  particularly  fine 
physique,  and  possessed  straight  black  hair,  regular  aquiline 
features,  and  an  intelligent  face.  He  was  dressed  in  a  sort  of 
brown  cloth  garment,  something  like  a  flannel  shirt  without  the 
sleeves,  and  in  an  unmistakable  kilt  of  the  same  material.  The 
legs  and  feet  were  bare.  Round  the  right  arm  and  left  leg  he 
wore  thick  rings  of  yellow  metal  that  I  judged  to  be  gold.  The 
woman  had  a  sweet  face,  wild  and  shy,  with  large  eyes  and 
curling  brown  hair.  Her  dress  was  made  of  the  same  material 
as  the  man's,  and  consisted,  as  we  afterwards  discovered,  first 


The  Frowning  City,  115 

of  a  linen  under-garment  that  hung  down  to  her  knee,  and  then 
of  a  single  long  strip  of  cloth,  about  four  feet  wide  by  fifteen 
long,  which  was  wound  round  the  body  in  graceful  folds  and  finally 
flung  over  the  left  shoulder  so  that  the  end,  which  was  dyed 
blue  or  purple  or  some  other  colour,  according  to  the  social 
standing  of  the  wearer,  hung  down  in  front,  the  right  arm  and 
breast  being,  however,  left  quite  bare.  A  more  becoming  dress, 
especially  when,  as  in  the  present  case,  the  wearer  was  young 
and  pretty,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  conceive.  ^  Good  (who  has 
an  eye  for  such  things)  was  greatly  struck  with  it,  and  so  indeed 
was  I.     It  was  so  simple  and  yet  so  effective. 

Meanwhile,  if  we  had  been  astonished  at  the  appearance  of 
the  man  and  woman,  it  was  clear  that  they  were  far  more  aston- 
ished at  us.  As  for  the  man,  he  appeared  to  be  overcome  with 
fear  and  wonder,  and  for  a  while  hovered  round  our  canoe,  but 
would  not  approach.  At  last,  however,  he  came  within  hailing 
distance,  and  called  to  us  in  a  language  that  sounded  soft  and 
pleasing  enough,  but  of  which  we  could  not  understand  one 
word.  So  we  hailed  back  in  English,  French,  Latin,  Greek, 
German,  Zulu,  Dutch,  Sisutu,  Kukuana,  and  a  few  other  native 
dialects  that  I  am  acquainted  with,  but  our  visitor  did  not  un- 
derstand any  of  these  tongues ;  indeed,  they  appeared  to  be- 
wilder him.  As  for  the  lady,  she  was  busily  employed  in  taking 
stock  of  us,  and  Good  was  returning  the  compliment  by 
staring  at  her  hard  through  his  eyeglass,  a  proceeding  that 
she  seemed  rather  to  enjoy  than  otherwise.  At  length  the 
man,  being  unable  to  make  anything  out  of  us,  suddenly 
headed  his  boat  round  and  began  to  head  off  for  the  shore, 
his  httle  boat  skimming  away  before  the  wind  like  a  swallow. 
As  she  passed  across  our  bows  the  man  turned  to  attend  to 
the  large  sail,  and  Good  promptly  took  the  opportunity  to 
kiss  his  hand  to  the  young  lady.  I  was  horrified  at  this  pro- 
ceeding, both  on  general  grounds  and  because  I  feared  she 
might  take  offence,  but  to  my  delight  she  did  not,  for,  first 
glancing  round  and  seeing  that  her  husband,  or  brother,  01 
whoever  it  was,  was  engaged,  she  prompily  kissed  hers  back. 

'  Ah,'  said  I.     '  It  seems  that  we  have  at  last  found  a  language 
that  the  people  of  this  country  understand.' 

'  In  which  case,'  said  Sir  Henry,  '  Good  will  prove  an  invalua- 
ble interpreter.' 

I  frowned,  for  I  do  not  approve  of  Good's  frivolities,  and  he 
knows  it,  and  turned  the  conversation  to  more  serious  subjects. 


Ii6  Allan  Quatermain, 

'  It  is  very  clear  to  me,'  I  said,  *  that  that  man  wfU  be  back 
before  long  with  a  host  of  his  fellows,  so  we  had  besi  make  up 
our  minds  as  to  how  we  are  going  to  receive  them.' 

*  The  question  is  how  will  they  receive  us,'  said  Sir  Henry. 
As  for  Good  he  made  no  remark,  but  began   to   extract  a- 

small  square  tin  case  that  had  accompanied  us  in  aU  our  wan- 
derings from  under  a  pile  of  things.  Now  we  had  often  re- 
monstrated with  Good  about  this  tin  case,  inasmuch  as  it  had 
been  an  awkward  thing  to  carry,  and  he  had  never  given  any 
very  explicit  account  as  to  its  contents ;  but  he  had  insisted  on 
sticking  to  it,  saying  mysteriously  that  it  might  come  in  ver^ 
useful  one  day. 

*  What  on  earth  are  you  going  to  do,  Good  ?  '  asked  Sii 
Henry. 

*  Do — why  dress,  of  course  !  You  don't  expect  me  to  appear 
in  a  new  country  in  these  things,  do  you  ? '  and  he  pointed  to 
his  soiled  and  worn  garments,  which  were,  however,  like  all 
Good's  things,  very  tidy,  and  with  every  tear  neatly  mended. 

We  said  no  more,  but  watched  his  proceedings  with  breath- 
less interest.     His   first  step  was   to   get   Alphonse,  w^ho  was 
thoroughly  competent  in  such   matters,  to  trim   his  hair  and 
beard  in  the  most  approved  fashion.  I  think  that  if  he  had  had 
some   hot  water   and   a  cake   of  soap  handy  he  would  have 
shaved  off  the  latter ;  but  he  had  not.     This   done,  he   sug- 
gested that  we  should  lower  the  sail  of  the  canoe  and  all  take 
a  bath,  which  we  did,  greatly  to  the  horror  and  astonishment 
of  Alphonse,  who  lifted  his  hands   and   ejaculated  that  these 
English  were  indeed  a  wonderful  people.     Umslopogaas,  who 
though  he  was,  like  most  high-bred  Zulus,  scrupulously  cleanly 
in  his  person,  did  not  see  the  fun  of  swimming  about  in  a  lake, 
'  also  regarded  the  proceeding  with  mild  amusement.     We  got 
back  into   the   canoe  much  refreshed  by  the  cold  water,  and 
sat  to  dry  in  the  sun,  whilst  Good  undid  his  tin  box,  and  pro- 
duced first  a  beautiful   clean  white   shirt,  just   as  it  had  left  a 
London  steam  laundry,  and  then  some  garments  wrapped  first 
in  brown,  then  in  white,  and  finally  in  silver  paper.  We  watched 
this  undoing  with  the  tenderest   interest  and  much  speculation. 
One  by  one  Good  removed  the  dull  husks  that  hid  their  splen- 
dours, carefully  folding  and  replacing  each  piece  of  paper  as  he 
did  so  ;  and  there  at  last  lay,  in  all  the  majesty  of  its  gold  epau- 
\      lettes,  lace,  and   buttons,  a  Commander  of  the  Royal  Navy's 


The  Frowning  City,  117 

full-dress  uniform — dress  sword,  cocked  hat,  shiny  patent  leather 
boots  and  alL     We  literally  gasped. 

'  What  / '  we  said,  '  what  /  Are  you  going  to  put  those  things 
on?*  _^ 

'  Certainly,'  he  answered  composedly ;  *  You  see  so  much  de- 
pends upon  a  first  impression,  especially,'  he  added,  '  as  I 
obser\'e  that  there  are  ladies  about  One  at  least  of  us  ought 
to  be  decently  dressed' 

We  said  no  more ;  we  were  simply  dumbfounded,  especially 
when  we  considered  the  artful  way  in  which  Good  had  con- 
cealed the  contents  of  that  box  for  all  these  months.  Only 
one  suggestion  did  we  make,  namely,  that  he  should  wear  his 
mail  shirt  next  his  skin.  He  replied  that  he  feared  it  would 
spoil  the  fit  of  his  coat,  now  carefully  spread  in  the  sun  to  take 
the  creases  out,  but  finally  consented  to  this  precautionary 
measure.  The  most  amusing  part  of  the  affair,  however,  was 
to  see  old  Umslopogaas's  astonishment  and  Alphonse's  delight 
at  Good's  transformation.  When  at  last  he  stood  up  in  all  his 
glor>',  even  down  to  the  medals  on  his  breast,  and  contemplated 
himself  in  the  still  waters  of  the  lake,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
young  gentleman  in  ancient  history,  whose  name  I  can't  re- 
member, but  who  fell  in  love  with  his  own  shadow,  the  old  Zulu 
could  no  longer  restrain  his  feelings. 

'  Oh,  Bougwan  ! '  he  said.  '  Oh,  Bougwan  !  I  always  thought 
thee  an  ugly  Httle  man,  and  fat — fat  as  the  cows  at  calving  time ; 
and  now  thou  art  hke  a  blue  jay  when  he  spreads  his  tail  out. 
Surely,  Bougwan,  it  hurts  my  ^yes  to  look  at  thee.' 

Good  did  not  much  like  this  allusion  to  his  fat,  which,  to  tell 
the  truth,  was  not  very  well  deserved,  for  hard  exercise  had 
brought  him  down  four  inches  ;  but  on  the  whole  he  was  pleased 
at  Umslopogaas's  admiration.  As  for  /^phonse,  he  was  quite 
delighted. 

*  Ah  !  but  Monsieur  has  the  beautiful  air — the  air  of  the  war- 
rior. It  is  the  ladies  who  will  say  so  when  we  come  to  get 
ashore.  Monsieur  is  complete ;  he  puts  me  in  mind  -of  my 
heroic  grand ' 

Here  we  stopped  Alphonse. 

As  we  gazed  upon  these  beauties  thus  revealed  by  Good,  a 
spirit  of  emulation  filled  our  breasts,  and  we  set  to  work  to  get 
ourselves  up  as  well  as  we  could.  The  most,  however,  that  we 
were  able  to  do  was  to  array  ourselves  in  our  spare  suits  of 
ihooting  clothes,  of  which  we  each  had  one,  keeping  on  our 


Ii8  Allan  Quatcrmain, 

mail  shirts  underneath.  As  for  my  appearance,  all  the  fine 
clothes  in  the  world  could  never  make  it  otherwise  than  scrubby 
and  insignificant ;  but  Sir  Henry  looked  what  he  is,  a  magnifi- 
cent man  in  his  nearly  new  tweed  suit,  gaiters  and  boots.  Al- 
phonse  also  got  himself  up  to  kill,  giving  an  extra  turn  to  his 
enormous  moustaches.  Even  old  Umslopogaas  who  was  not 
in  a  general  way  given  to  the  vain  adorning  of  his  body,  got 
hold  of  some  oil  out  of  the  lantern  and  a  bit  of  tow,  and  pol- 
ished up  his  head-ring  with  it  till  it  shone  like  Good's  patent 
leather  boots.  Then  he  put  on  the  mail  shirt  Sir  Henry  had 
given  him  and  his  '  moocha,'  and,  having  cleaned  up  Inkosi- 
kaas  a  little,  stood  forth  complete. 

All  this  while  we  had,  having  hoisted  the  sail  again  as  soon  as 
we  had  bathed,  been  progressing  steadily  for  the  land,  or,  rather, 
for  the  mouth  of  a  great  river.  Presently — in  all  about  an  hour 
and  a  half  after  the  httle  boat  had  left  us — we  saw  emerging 
from  the  river  or  harbour  a  large  number  of  boats,  ranging  up 
to  ten  or  twelve  tons  burden.  One  of  these  was  propelled  by 
twenty-four  oars,  and  most  of  the  rest  sailed.  Looking  through 
the  glass  we  soon  made  out  that  the  row-boat  was  an  official 
vessel,  her  crew  being  all  dressed  in  a  sort  of  uniform,  whilst 
on  the  half-deck  forward  stood  an  old  man  of  venerable  ap- 
pearance, and  with  a  flowing  white  beard,  and  a  sword  strapped 
to  his  side,  who  was  evidently  the  commander  of  the  craft.  The 
other  boats  were  apparently  occupied  by  people  drawn  out  of 
curiosity,  and  were  rowing  or  sailing  towards  us  as  quickly  as 
they  could. 

*  Now  for  it,'  said  I.  *  What  is  the  betting  ?  Are  they  going 
to  be  friendly  or  to  put  an  end  to  us  ? ' 

Nobody  could  answer  this  question,  and,  not  liking  the  war- 
like appearaace  of  the  old  gentleman  and  his  sword,  we  felt  a 
little  anxious. 

Just  then  Good  spied  a  school  of  hippopotami  on  the  water 
about  two  hundred  yards  off  us,  and  suggested  that  it  would  not 
be  a  bad  plan  to  impress  the  natives  with  a  sense  of  our  power 
by  shooting  some  of  them  if  possible.  This,  unluckily  enough, 
struck  us  as  a  good  idea,  and  accordingly  we  at  once  got  out 
our  eight-bore  rifles,  for  which  we  still  had  a  few  cartridges  left, 
and  prepared  for  action.  There  were  four  of  the  animals,  a  big 
bull,  a  cow,  and  two  young  ones,  one  three-parts  grown.  We 
got  up  to  them  without  difficulty,  the  great  animaU-  contenting 
themselves  with  sinking  down  into  the  water  and  rising  again 


The  Frozvniiig  City.  iig 

a  few  3'ards  farther  on;  indeed,  their  excessive  tameness  struck 
me  as  being  peculiar.  When  the  advancing  boats  were  about 
five  hundred  yards  away,  Sir  Henry  opened  the  ball  by  firing 
at  the  three-parts  grown  young  one.  The  heavy  bullet  struck  it 
fair  between  the  eyes,  and,  crashing  through  the  skull,  killed  it, 
and  it  sank,  leaving  a  long  train  of  blood  behind  it.  At  the 
same  moment  I  fired  at  the  cow  and  Good  at  the  old  bull.  My, 
shot  took  effect,  but  not  f atall}^  and  down  went  the  hippopota- 
mus with  a  prodigious  splashing,  only  to  rise  again  presently 
blowing  and  grunting  furiously,  dyeing  all  the  water  round  her 
crimson,  when  I  killed  her  with  the  left  barrel.  Good,  who  is 
an  execrable  shot,  missed  the  head  of  the  bull  altogether,  the 
bullet  merely  cutting  the  side  of  his  face  as  it  passed.  On 
glancing  up,  after  I  had  fired  my  second  shot,  I  perceived  that 
the  people  we  had  fallen  among  were  evidently  ignorant  of  the 
nature  of  firearms,  for  the  consternation  caused  by  our  shots 
and  their  effect  upon  the  animals  was  prodigious.  Some  of  the 
parties  in  the  boats  began  to  cry  out  with  fear ;  others  turned 
and  made  off  as  hard  as  they  could  ;  and  even  the  old  gentle- 
man with  the  sword  looked  greatly  puzded  and  alarmed,  and 
halted  his  big  row-boat  We  had,  however,  but  little  time  for 
observation,  for  just  then  the  old  bull,  rendered  furious  by 
the  wound  he  had  received,  rose  fair  within  forty  yards  of  us, 
glaring  savagely.  We  all  fired,  and  hit  him  in  various  places, 
and  down  he  went,  badly  wounded.  Curiosity  now  began  to 
overcome  the  fear  of  the  on-lookers,  and  some  of  them  sailed 
on  up  close  to  us,  amongst  these  being  the  man  and  woman 
whom  we  had  first  seen  a  couple  of  hours  or  so  before,  who 
drew  up  almost  alongside.  Just  then  the  great  brute  rose  again 
within  ten  yards  of  their  boat,  and  instantly  with  a  roar  of  fury 
made  at  it  open-mouthed.  The  woman  shrieked,  and  the  man 
tried  to  give  the  boat  way,  but  without  success.  In  another 
second  I  saw  the  huge  red  jaws  and  gleaming  ivories  close  with 
a  crunch  on  the  frail  craft,  taking  an  enormous  mouthful  out  of 
its  side  and  capsizing  it.  Down  went  the  boat,  leaving  its  oc- 
cupants struggling  in  the  water.  Next  moment,  before  we  could 
do  anything  towards  saving  them,  the  huge  and  furious  creature 
was  up  again  and  making  open-mouthed  at  the  poor  girl,  who 
was  struggling  in  the  water.  Lifting  my  rifle  just  as  the  grind- 
ing jaws  were  about  to  close  on  her,  I  fired  over  her  head 
right  down  the  hippopotamus's  throat.  Over  he  went,  and 
commenced  turning  round  and  round,  snorting,  and  blowing 


120  Allan  Quatermain, 

red  streams  of  blood  through  his  nostrils.  Before  he  could  re 
cover  himself,  however,  I  let  him  have  the  other  barrel  in  tha 
side  of  the  throat,  and  that  finished  him.  He  never  moved  oi 
struggled  again,  but  instantly  sank.  Our  next  effort  was  direct 
ed  towards  saving  the  girl,  the  man  having  swum  off  towards 
another  boat ;  and  in  this  we  were  fortunately  successful, 
pulling  her  into  the  canoe  (amidst  the  shouts  of  the  specta- 
tors) considerably  exhausted  and  frightened,  but  otherwise 
unhurt. 

Meanwhile  the  boats  had  gathered  together  at  a  distance, 
and  we  could  see  that  their  occupants,  who  were  evidently 
much  frightened,  were  consulting  what  to  do.  Without  giv- 
ing them  time  for  further  consideration,  which  we  thought 
might  result  unfavourably  to  ourselves,  we  instantly  took  oui 
paddles  and  advanced  towards  them,  Good  standing  in  the 
bow  and  taking  off  his  cocked  hat  politely  in  every  direction, 
his  amiable  features  suffused  by  a  bland  but  intelligent  smile. 
Most  of  the  craft  retreated  as  we  advanced,  but  a  few  held 
their  ground,  while  the  big  row-boat  came  on  to  meet  us. 
Presently  we  were  alongside  ,and  I  could  see  that  our  appear- 
ance— and  especially  Good's  and  Umslopogaas's — filled  the 
venerable-looking  commander  with  astonishment,  not  unmixed 
with  awe.  He  was  dressed  after  the  same  fashion  as  the  man 
we  first  met,  except  that  his  shirt  was  not  made  of  brown  cloth, 
but  of  pure  white  linen  hemmed  with  purple.  The  kilt,  how- 
ever, was  identical,  and  so  were  the  thick  rings  of  gold  around 
the  arm  and  beneath  the  left  knee.  The  rowers  wore  only 
a  kilt,  their  bodies  being  naked  to  the  waist.  Good  took  ofl 
his  hat  to  the  old  gentleman  with  an  extra  flourish,  and  inquir- 
ed after  his  health  in  the  purest  English,  to  which  he  replied  by 
laying  the  first  two  fingers  of  his  right  hand  horizontally  across 
his  hps  and  holding  them  there  for  a  moment,  which  we  took 
as  his  method  of  salutation.  Then  he  also  addressed  some 
remarks  to  us  in  the  same  soft  accents  that  had  distinguished 
our  first  interviewer,  which  we  were  forced  to  indicate  we  did 
not  understand  by  shaking  our  heads  and  shrugging  our  shoul- 
ders. This  last  Alphonse,  being  to  the  manner  born,  did  to 
perfection,  and  in  so  polite  a  way  that  nobody  could  take 
any  offence.  Then  we  came  to  a  standstill,  till  I,  being  ex- 
ceedingly hungry,  thought  I  might  as  well  call  attention  to  the 
fact,  and  did  so  tirst  by  opening  my  mouth  and  pomtin^^-  down 
it,  and  then  rubbing  my  stomach.      These  signals  the  old  gen- 


Tlie  Frowning  City,  121 

tleman  clearly  understood,  for  he  nodded  his  head  vigorously, 
and  pointed  towards  the  harbour  ;  and  at  the  same  time  one  of 
the  men  on  his  boat  threw  us  a  line  and  motioned  to  us  to 
make  it  fast,  which  we  did.  The  row-boat  then  took  us  in  tow, 
and  proceeded  with  great  rapidity  towards  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  accompanied  by  all  the  other  boats.  In  about  twenty 
minutes  more  we  reached  the  entrance  to  the  harbour,  which 
was  crowded  with  boats  full  of  people  who  had  come  out  to  see 
us.  We  observed  that  all  the  occupants  were  more  or  less 
of  the  same  type,  though  some  were  fairer  than  others.  Indeed, 
we  noticed  certain  ladies  whose  skin  was  of  a  most  dazzhng 
whiteness ;  and  the  darkest  shade  of  colour  which  we  saw  was 
about  that  of  a  rather  swarthy  Spaniard.  Presently  the  wide 
river  gave  a  sweep,  and  when  it  did  so  an  exclamation  of  aston- 
ishment and  delight  burst  from  our  lips  as  we  caught  our  first 
riew  of  the  place  that  we  afterwards  knew  as  Milosis,  or  the 
Frowning  City  (from  the  prefix  mi^  which  means  city,  and  losis^ 
a  frown). 

At  a  distance  of  some  five  hundred  yards  from  the  river's 
bank  rose  a  sheer  precipice  of  granite,  two  hundred  feet  or  so  in 
height,  which  had  no  doubt  once  formed  the  bank  itself — the 
intermediate  space  of  land  now  utilized  as  docks  and  roadways 
having  been  gained  by  draining,  and  deepening  and  embanking 
the  stream. 

On  the  brow  of  this  precipice  stood  a  great  building  of  the 
same  granite  that  formed  the  cliff,  built  on  three  sides  of  a 
square,  the  fourth  side  being  open,  save  for  a  kind  of  battle- 
ment pierced  at  its  base  by  a  httle  door.  This  imposing 
place  we  afterwards  discovered  was  the  palace  of  the  queen,  or 
rather  of  the  queens.  At  the  back  of  the  palace  the  town 
sloped  gently  upwards  to  a  flashing  building  of  white  marble, 
crowned  by  the  golden  dome  which  we  had  already  observed. 
The  city  was,  with  the  exception  of  this  one  building,  entirely 
built  of  red  granite,  and  laid  out  in  regular  blocks,  with  splen- 
did roadways  between.  So  far  as  we  could  see  also  the  houses 
were  all  one-storied  and  detached,  with  gardens  round  them 
which  gave  some  rehef  to  the  eye  wearied  with  the  sight  of  red 
granite.  At  the  back  of  the  palace  a  road  of  extraordinary 
width  stretched  away  up  the  hiQ  for  a  distance  of  a  myie  and  a 
half  or  so,  and  appeared  to  terminate  at  an  open  space  sur- 
rounding the  gleaming  building  that  crowned  the  hilL  But 
right  in  front  of  us  was  the  crowning  wonder  and  glory  of  1^ 
H 


122  Allan  Quaterjnain. 

losis — the  great  staircase  of  the  palace,  the  magnificence  of 
which  fairly  took  our  breath  away.  Let  the  reader  imagine,  if 
he  can,  a  splendid  stainvay,  sixty-five  feet  from  balustrade  to  bal- 
ustrade, consisting  of  two  vast  flights,  each  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  steps  of  eight  inches  in  height  by  three  feet  broad, 
connected  by  a  flat  resting-place  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  run- 
ning from  the  palace  wall  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice  down  to 
meet  a  waterway  or  canal  cut  to  its  foot  from  the  river.  This 
marvellous  staircase  was  supported  upon  a  single  enormous 
granite  arch,  of  which  the  resting-place  between  the  two  flights 
formed  the  crown  \  that  is,  the  connecting  open  space  lay  upon 
it  From  this  archway  sprang  a  subsidiary  flying  arch,  or 
rather  something  that  resembled  a  flying  arch  in  shape,  such  as 
none  of  us  had  seen  in  any  other  country,  and  of  which  the 
beauty  and  wonder  surpassed  all  that  v/e  had  ever  inagined. 
Three  hundred  feet  from  point  to  point,  and  no  less  than  five  hun- 
dred arid  fifty  round  the  curve,  that  half-arc  soared  touching  the 
bridge  it  supported  for  a  space  of  fifty  feet  only,  one  end  resting 
on  and  built  into  the  parent  archway,  and  the  other  embedded 
in  the  solid  granite  of  the  side  of  the  precipice. 

This  staircase  with  its  supports  was,  indeed,  a  work  of  which 
any  living  man  might  have  been  proud,  both  on  account  of  its 
magnitude  and  its  surpassing  beauty.  Four  times,  as  we  after- 
wards learnt,  did  the  work,  which  was  commenced  in  remote 
antiquity,  fail,  and  was  then  abandoned  for  three  centuries  when 
half-finished,  till  at  last  there  arose  a  youthful  engineer  named 
Rademas,  who  said  that  he  would  complete  it  successfully,  and 
staked  his  life  upon  it.  If  he  failed  he  was  to  be  hurled  from 
tlie  precipice  he  had  undertaken  to  scale,  if  he  succeeded  he 
was  to  be  rewarded  by  the  hand  of  the  king's  daughter.  Five 
years  was  given  to  him  to  complete  the  work,  and  an  unlimited 
supply  of  labour  and  material.  Three  times  did  his  arch  fall, 
till  at  last,  seeing  failure  to  be  inevitable,  he  determined  to  com- 
mit suicide  on  the  morrow  of  the  third  collapse.  That  night, 
however,  a  beautiful  woman  came  to  him  in  a  dream  and 
touched  his  forehead,  and  of  a  sudden  he  saw  a  vision  of  the 
completed  work,  and  saw  too  through  the  masonry  and  how  the 
difliculties  connected  with  the  flying  arch  that  had  hitherto 
bafllcd  his  genius  were  to  be  overcome.  Then  he  awoke  and 
once  more  commenced  the  work,  but  on  a  different  plan,  and 
behold  !  he  achieved  it,  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  five  years  he 
'cd  the  princess  his  bride  up  the  stair  and  into  the  palace.    And 


Tlu  StsUr  Queens,  123 

in  due  course  he  became  king  by  right  of  his  wife,  and  founded 
the  present  Zu-vendi  dynasty,  which  is  to  this  day  called  the 
'  House  of  the  Stairway,'  thus  proving  once  more  how  energy 
and  talent  are  the  natural  stepping-stones  to  grandeur.  And  to 
commemorate  his  triumph  he  fashioned  a  statue  of  himself 
dreaming,  and  of  the  fair  woman  who  touched  him  on  the  fore- 
head, and  placed  it  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  and  there  it 
stands  to  this  day. 

Such  was  the  great  stair  of  Milosis,  and  such  the  city  beyond. 
No  wonder  they  called  it  the  *  Frowning  City,'  for  certainly 
those  mighty  works  in  solid  granite  did  seem  to  frown  down 
upon  our  Httleness  in  their  sombre  splendour.  This  was  so 
even  in  the  sunshine,  but  when  the  storm-clouds  gathered  on 
her  imperial  brow  Milosis  looked  more  like  a  supernatural 
dwelling-place,  or  some  imagining  of  a  poet's  brain,  than  what 
she  is — a  mortal  city,  carve n  by  the  patient  genius  of  genera- 
tions out  of  the  red  silence  of  the  mountain-side. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE  SISTER   QUEENS. 


The  big  rowing-boat  proceeded  on  up  the  cutting  that  ran  al- 
most to  the  foot  of  the  vast  stairway,  and  then  halted  at  a  flight 
of  steps  leading  to  the  landing-place.  Here  the  old  gentleman 
disembarked,  and  invited  us  to  do  likewise,  which,  having  no 
alternative,  and  being  nearly  starved,  we  did  without  hesitation 
— taking  our  rifles  with  us,  however.  As  each  of  us  landed,  our 
guide  again  laid  his  fingers  on  his  lips  in  salutation  and  bowed 
deeply,  at  the  same  time  ordering  back  the  crowds  who  had 
assembled  to  gaze  on  us.  The  last  to  leave  the  canoe  was  the 
girl  we  had  picked  out  of  the  water,  for  whom  her  companion 
was  waiting.  Before  she  went  away  she  kissed  my  hand,  I  sup- 
pose as  a  token  of  gratitude  for  having  saved  her  from  the  fury 
of  the  hippopotamus  ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  had  by  this 
time  quite  got  over  any  fear  she  might  have  had  of  us,  and  was 
by  no  means  anxious  to  return  in  such  a  hurry  to  her  lawful 
owners.     At  any  rate,  she  was  going  to  kiss  Good's  hand  as 


134  Allan  Quatermatn, 

well  as  mine,  when  the  young  man  interfered  and  led  her  off. 
As  soon  as  we  were  on  shore,  a  number  of  the  men  who  had 
rowed  the  big  boat  took  possession  of  our  few  goods  and  chat- 
tels, and  started  with  them  up  the  splendid  staircase,  our  guide 
indicating  to  us  by  means  of  motions  that  the  things  were  per* 
fectly  safe.  This  done,  he  turned  to  the  right  and  led  the  way 
to  a  small  house,  which  was,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  an  inn. 
Entering  straight  into  a  good-sized  room,  we  saw  that  a  wooden 
table  was  already  furnished  with  food,  presumably  in  prepara- 
tion for  us.  Here  our  guide  motioned  us  to  be  seated  on  a 
bench  that  ran  the  length  of  the  table.  We  did  not  require  a 
second  invitation,  but  at  once  fell  to  ravenously  on  the  viands 
befoje  us,  which  were  served  on  wooden  platters,  and  con- 
sisted of  cold  goat's-flesh,  wrapped  up  in  some  kind  of  leaf  that 
gave  it  a  delicious  flavour,  green  vegetables  resembling  lettuces, 
brown  bread,  and  red  wine  poured  from  a  skin  into  horn  mugs. 
This  wine  was  peculiarly  soft  and  good,  having  something  of 
the  flavour  of  Burgundy.  Twenty  minutes  after  we  sat  down 
at  that  hospitable  board  we  rose  from  it,  feeling  like  new  men. 
After  all  that  we  had  gone  through  we  needed  two  things,  food 
and  rest,  and  the  food  of  itself  was  a  great  blessing  to  us.  Two 
girls  of  the  same  charming  cast  of  face  as  the  first  whom  we  had 
seen  waited  on  us  while  we  ate,  and  very  nicely  they  did  it. 
They  were  also  dressed  in  the  same  fashion,  namely,  in  a  white 
hnen  petticoat  coming  to  the  knee,  and  with  the  toga-like  gar- 
ment of  brown  cloth,  leaving  bare  the  right  arm  and  breast.  I 
afterwards  found  out  that  this  was  the  national  dress,  and  regu- 
lated by  an  iron  custom,  though  of  course  subject  to  variations. 
Thus,  if  the  petticoat  was  pure  white,  it  signified  that  the  wearer 
was  unmarried  ;  if  white,  wiili  a  straight  purple  stripe  round  the 
edge,  that  she  was  married  and  a  first  or  legal  wife  ;  if  Mvith  a 
wav)'  purple  stripe,  that  she  was  a  second  or  other  wife  :  if  with 
a  black  stripe,  that  she  was  a  widow.  In  the  same  way  the  toga 
or  '  kaf,'  as  they  call  it,  was  of  different  shades  of  colour,  from 
pure  white  to  the  deepest  brown,  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
wearer,  and  embroidered  at  the  end  in  various  ways.  This  also 
applies  to  the  '  shirts  '  or  tunics  worn  by  the  men,  which  varied 
in  material  and  colour ;  but  the  kilts  were  always  the  same  ex- 
cept as  regards  quality.  One  thing,  however,  ever)'  man  and 
woman  in  the  country  wore  as  the  national  insignia,  and  that 
was  the  thick  band  of  gold  round  the  right  arm  above  the  elbow 
and  the  left  le^  belovv  the  knee.    People  uf  hi^h  rank  alio  wore 


The  Sister  Queens,  12? 

1  torque  of  gold  round  the  neck,  and  I  observed  that  our  guiae 
had  one  on. 

So  soon  as  we  had  finished  our  meal  our  venerable  conductor 
who  had  been  standing  all  the  while,  regarding  us  with  inquir- 
ing eyes,  and  our  guns  with  something  as  like  fear  as  his  pride 
would  allow  him  to  show,  bowed  towards  Good,  whom  he  evi- 
dently took  for  the  leader  of  the  part}'  on  account  of  the  splen- 
dour of  his  apparel,  and  once  more  led  the  way  through  the 
door  and  to  the  foot  of  the  great  staircase.     Here  we  paused 
for  a  moment  to  admire  two  colossal  lions,  each  hewn  from  a 
single  block  of  pure  black  marble,  and  standing  rampant  on 
the  terminations    of    the   wide   balustrades   of    the  staircase. 
These  lions  are  magnificently  executed,  and  it  is  said  were 
sculptured  by  Rademas,  the  great  prince  who  designed  the 
staircase,  and  who  was  without  doubt,  to  judge  from  the  many 
beautiful  examples  of  his  art  that  we  saw  afterwards,  one  of  the 
finest  sculptors  who  have  ever  lived,  either  in  this  or  any  other 
country.     Then  we  proceeded  almost  with  a  feeling  of  awe  up 
that  splendid  stair,  a  work  executed  for  all  time  and  that  will, 
I  do  not  doubt,  be  admired  thousands  of  years  hence  by  gen- 
erations unborn  unless  an  earthquake  throw  it  down.     Even 
Umslopogaas,  who  as  a  general  rule  made  it  a  point  of  honour 
not  to  show  astonishment,  which  he  considered   undignified, 
was  fairly  startled  out  of  himself,  and  asked  if   the    '  bridge 
had  been  built  by  men  or  devils,'  which  was  his  vague  way 
of  alluding  to  any  supernatural  power.     But  Alphonse  did  not 
care  about   it.     Its  solid  grandeur  jarred   upon  the  frivolous 
little  Frenchman,  who  said  that  it  was  all    '  tr^s  magnifique, 
mais  triste — ah,  triste  ! '  and  went  on  to  suggest  that  it  would 
be  improved  if  the  balustrades  were  gilt. 

On  we  went  up  the  first  flight  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
steps,  across  the  broad  platform  joining  it  to  the  second  flight, 
where  we  paused  to  admire  the  glorious  view  of  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  stretches  of  country  that  the  world  can  show, 
edged  by  the  blue  waters  of  the  lake.  Then  we  passed  on 
up  this  till  at  last  we  reached  the  top,  where  we  found  a  large 
standing  space  to  which  there  were  three  entrances,  all  of  small 
size.  Two  of  these  gave  on  to  rather  narrow  opened  or  road- 
ways cut  in  the  face  of  the  precipice  that  ran  round  the  palace 
walls  and  led  to  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  city,  and 
were  used  by  the  inhabitants  oassing  up  and  down  from  the 
docks.     These  were  defended  by  gates  of  bronze,  and  also,  as 


126  Allan  Qiiaiermain, 

we  afterwards  learnt,  it  was  possible  to  let  down  a  portion  ol 
the  roadways  themselves  by  withdrawing  certain  bolts,  and  thus 
render  it  almost  impossible  for  an  enemy  to  pass.  The  third 
entrance  consisted  of  a  flight  of  ten  curved  black  marble 
steps  leading  to  a  doorway  cut  in  the  palace  wall.  This  wall 
was  in  itself  a  work  of  art,  being  built  of  huge  blocks  of 
granite  to  the  height  of  forty  feet,  and  so  fashioned  that  its 
face  was  concave,  whereby  it  was  rendered  practically  impos- 
sible for  it  to  be  scaled.  To  this  doorway  our  guide  led  us. 
The  door,  which  was  very  massive,  and  made  of  wood  protect- 
ed by  an  outer  gate  of  bronze,  was  closed ;  but  on  our  ap- 
proach it  was  thrown  wide,  and  we  were  met  by  the  challenge 
of  a  sentry,  who  was  armed  with  a  heavy  triangular-bladed 
spear,  not  unlike  a  bayonet  in  shape,  and  a  cutting  sword, 
and  protected  by  breast  and  back  plates  of  skilfully  prepared 
hippopotamus-hide,  and  a  small  round  shield  fashioned  of  the 
same  tough  material.  The  sword  instantly  attracted  our  at- 
tention ;  it  was  practically  identical  with  the  one  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Mackenzie  which  he  had  obtained  from  the  ill- 
starred  wanderer.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  gold-lined  fret- 
work cut  in  the  thickness  of  the  blade.  So  the  man  had  told 
the  truth  after  all.  Our  guide  instantly  gave  a  password,  which 
the  soldier  acknowledged  by  letting  the  iron  shaft  of  his  spear 
fall  with  a  ringing  sound  upon  the  pavement,  and  we  passed 
on  through  the  massive  wall  into  the  courtyard  of  the  palace. 
This  was  about  forty  yards  square,  and  laid  out  in  flower-beds 
full  of  lovely  shrubs  and  plants,  many  of  which  were  quite  new 
to  me.  Through  the  centre  of  this  garden  ran  a  broad  walk 
formed  of  powdered  shells  brought  from  the  lake  in  the  place 
of  gravel.  Following  this  we  came  to  another  doorway  with 
a  round  heavy  arch,  which  is  hung  with  thick  curtains,  for 
there  are  no  doors  in  the  palace  itself.  Then  came  another 
short  passage,  and  we  were  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  and 
once  more  stood  astonished  at  the  simple  and  yet  overpower- 
ing grandeur  of  the  place. 

The  hall  is,  as  we  afterwards  learnt,  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet  long  by  eighty  wide,  and  has  a  magnificent  arched  roof 
of  can'ed  wood.  Down  the  entire  length  of  the  building  there 
are  on  either  side,  and  at  a  distance  of  twenty  feet  from  the 
wall,  slender  shafts  of  black  marble  springing  sheer  to  the 
roof,  beautifully  fluted,  and  with  carved  capitals.  At  one  end 
of  this  great  place  which  these  pillars  supported  is  the  group 


The  Sister  Queens.  127 

of  which  I  have  already  spoken  as  executed  by  the  King  Rad- 
emas  to  commemorate  his  building  of  the  staircase ;  and  really, 
when  we  had  time  to  admire  it,  its  loveliness  almost  struck  us 
dumb.     The  group,  of  which  the  figures  are  in  white,  and  the 
couch  in  black  marble,  is  about  half  as  large  again  as  life,  and 
represents  a  young  man  of  noble  countenance  and  form  sleep- 
ing heavily  upon  a  couch.     One  arm  is  carelessly  thrown  over 
the  side  of  the  couch,  and  his  head  reposes  upon  the  other,  its 
curUng  locks  partially  hiding  it.     Ben;^:ng  over  him,  her  hand 
resting  on  his  forehead,  is  a  draped  female  form  of  such  white 
loveHness  as  to  make  the  beholder's  breath  stand  still.     And 
as  for  the  calm  glory  that  shines  upon  her  perfect  face — well, 
I  can  never   hope  to   describe  it.     But  there  it  rests  like  the 
shadow  of  an  angel's  smile ;  and  power,  love,  and  divinity  all 
have  their  part  in  it.     Her  eyes  are  fixed  upon  the  sleeping 
youth,  and   perhaps   the  most   extraordinary  thing  about  this 
beautiful  work  is  the  success  with  which  the  artist  has  succeed- 
ed in  depicting  on  the  sleeper's  worn  and  weary  face  the  sudden 
rising  of  a  new  and  spiritual  thought  as  the  spell  begins  to  work 
within  his  mind.     You  can  see  that  an  inspiration  is  breaking 
in  upon  the  darkness  of  the  man's  soul  as  the  dawn  breaks  in 
upon  the  darkness  of  the  night.     It  is  a  glorious  piece  of  sta- 
tuary, and  none  but  a  genius  could  have  conceived  it  Between 
each   of  the    black  marble  columns   is    some  such  group  of 
figures,  some  allegorical,  and   some  representing  the  persons 
and  wives  of  deceased  monarchs  or  great  men ;  but  none  of 
them,  in  our  opinion,  comes  up  to  the  one  I  have  described, 
although  several  are  from  the  hand  of  the  great  sculptor  and 
engineer,  King  Rademas. 

In  the  exact  centre  of  the  hall  was  a  solid  mass  of  black 
marble  about  the  size  of  a  baby's  arm-chair,  which  it  rather 
resembled  in  appearance.  This,  as  we  afterwards  learnt,  was 
the  sacred  stone  of  this  remarkable  people,  and  on  it  their 
monarchs  laid  their  hand  after  the  ceremony  of  coronation,  and 
swore  by  the  sun  to  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  empire,  and 
to  maintain  its  customs,  traditions,  and  laws.  This  stone  was 
evidently  exceedingly  ancient  (as  indeed  all  stones  are),  and 
was  scored  down  its  sides  with  long  marks  or  lines,  which  Sir 
Henry  said  proved  it  to  have  been  a  fragment  that  at  some  re- 
mote period  in  its  history  had  been  ground  in  the  iron  jaws  of 
glaciers.  There  was  a  curious  prophecy  about  this  block  of 
marble,  which  was  reported  among  the  people  to  have  fallen 


128  Allan  Quatermain, 

from  the  sun,  to  the  effect  that  when  it  was  shattered  into  frag- 
ments a  king  of  ahen  race  should  rule  over  the  land.  As  the 
stone,  however,  looked  remarkably  solid,  the  native  princes 
seemed  to  have  a  fair  chance  of  keeping  their  own  for  many  a 
long  year. 

At  the  end  of  the  hall  is  a  dais  spread  with  rich  carpets,  on 
which  two  thrones  are  set  side  by  side.  These  thrones  are 
shaped  like  great  chairs,  and  are  made  of  solid  gold.  The  seats 
are  richly  cushioned,  but  the  backs  are  left  bare,  and  on  each 
is  carved  the  emblem  of  the  sun,  shooting  out  his  fiery  rays  in 
all  directions.  The  footstools  are  golden  lions  couchant,  with 
yellow  topazes  set  in  them  for  eyes.  There  are  no  other  gems 
about  them. 

The  place  is  lighted  by  numerous  but  narrow  windows,  placed 
high  up,  cut  on  the  principle  of  the  loopholes  to  be  seen  in 
ancient  castles,  but  innocent  of  glass,  which  was  evidently  un- 
known here. 

Such  is  a  brief  description  of  this  splendid  hall  in  which  we 
now  found  ourselves,  compiled  of  course  from  our  subsequent 
knowledge  of  it.  On  this  occasion  we  had  but  little  time  for 
observation,  for  when  we  entered  we  perceived  that  a  large 
number  of  men  were  gathered  together  in  front  of  the  two 
thrones,  which  were  unoccupied.  The  principal  among  them 
were  seated  on  carved  wooden  chairs  ranged  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  thrones,  but  not  in  front  of  them,  and  were  dressed 
in  white  tunics,  with  various  embroideries  and  different  coloured 
edgings,  and  armed  with  the  usual  pierced  and  gold-inlaid 
swords.  To  judge  from  the  dignity  ot  their  appearance,  they 
seemed  one  and  all  to  be  individuals  of  very  great  importance. 
Behind  each  of  these  great  men  was  a  small  knot  of  followers 
and  attendants. 

Seated  by  themselves,  in  a  little  group  to  the  left  of  the 
throne,  were  six  men  of  a  different  stamp.  Instead  of  wearing 
the  ordinary  kilt  they  were  clothed  in  long  robes  of  pure  white 
linen,  with  the  same  symbol  of  the  sun  that  is  to  be  seen  on  the 
back  of  the  chairs,  emblazoned  in  gold  thread  upon  the  breast. 
This  garment  was  girt  up  at  the  waist  with  a  simple  golden 
curb-like  chain,  from  which  hung  long  elliptic  plates  of  the  same 
metal,  fashioned  in  shiny  scales  like  those  of  a  fish,  that,  as  their 
wearers  moved,  jingled  and  reflected  the  light  They  were  all 
men  of  mature  age   and  of  a  severe  and  impressive  cast  o< 


The  Sister  Queens.  129 

features,  which  vras  rendered  still  more  imposing  by  the  long 
beards  they  wore. 

The  personality  of  one  individual  among  them,  however,  im  - 
pressed  us  at  once.     He  seemed  to  stand  out  among  his  fellows 
and  refuse  to  be  overlooked.     He  was  very  old — eighty  at  least 
— and  extremely  tall,  with  a  long  snow-white  beard  that  hung 
nearly  to  his  waist.     His  features  were  aquiHne  and  deeply  cut, 
and  his  eyes  were  grey  and  cold-looking.      The  heads  of  the 
others  were  bare,  but  this  man  wore  a  sort  of  round  cap  en- 
tirely covered  with  gold  embroidery,  from  which  we  judged  that 
he  was  a  person  of  great  importance ;  and  indeed  it  afterwards 
transpired  that  he  was  Agon,  the  High  Priest  of  the  country. 
As  we  approached,   all  these  men,  including  the  priests,  rose 
and  bowed  to  us  with  the  greatest  courtesy,  at  the  same  time 
placing  the  two  fingers  across  the  lips  in  salutation.     Then  soft- 
footed  attendants  advanced  from  between  the  pillars,  bearing 
seats,  which  were  placed  in  a  line  in  front  of  the  thrones.     We 
three  sat  down,  Alphonse  and   Umslopogaas   standing   behind 
us.    Scarcely  had  we  done  so  when  there  came  a  blare  of  trum- 
pets from  some  passage  to  the  right,  and  a  similar  blare  from 
the  left.     Next  a  man  with  a  long  white  wand  of  ivory  appeared 
just  in  front  of  the  right-hand  throne,  and  cried  out  something 
in  a  loud  voice,  ending  with  the  word  Nyleptha,  repeated  three 
times ;  and  another  man,  similarly  attired,  called  out  a  similar 
sentence  before  the  other  throne,   but  ending   with   the   word 
SoraiSj  also  repeated  thrice.     Then  came  the  tramp  of  armed 
men  from  each  side  entrance,  and  in  filed  about  a  score  of 
picked   and  magnificently  accoutred  guards,    who  formed  up 
on  each  side  of  the  thrones,  and  let  their  heav}'  iron-handled 
spears  fall  simultaneously  with  a  clash  upon  the  black  marble 
flooring.      Another   double  blare   of    trumpets,    and  in  from 
either  side,    each  attended   by   six   maidens,    swept   the   two 
Queens  of  Zu-vendis,  everybody  in  the  hall  rising  to  greet  them 
as  they  came. 

I  have  seen  beautiful  women  in  my  day,  and  am  no  longer 
thrown  into  transports  at  the  sight  of  a  pretty  face ;  but  lan- 
guage fails  me  when  I  try  to  give  some  idea  of  the  blaze  of 
loveliness  that  then  broke  upon  us  in  the  persons  of  these  sis- 
ter Queens.  Both  were  young — perhaps  five-and-twenty  years 
of  age — tall  and  exquisitely  lormed ;  but  there  the  likeness 
stopped.  One,  Nyleptha,  was  a  woman  of  dazzling  fairness ; 
her  right  arm  and  breast  bare,  after  the  custom  of  her  people. 


130  Allan  Qiiaiermain, 

ihowed  like  snow  even  against  her  white  and  gold-embroidered 
'  kaf,'  or  toga.  And  as  for  her  sweet  face,  all  I  can  say  is,  that 
it  was  one  that  few  men  could  look  on  and  forget.  Her  hair, 
a  veritable  crown  of  gold,  clustered  in  short  ringlets  over  her 
shapely  head,  half  hiding  the  ivory  brow,  beneath  which  eyes 
of  deep  and  glorious  grey  flashed  out  in  tender  majesty.  I 
cannot  attempt  to  describe  her  other  features,  only  the  mouth 
was  most  sweet,  and  curved  like  Cupid's  bow,  and  over  the 
whole  countenance  there  shone  an  indescribable  look  of  loving 
kindness,  lit  up  by  a  shadow  of  delicate  humour  that  lay  upon 
her  face  hke  a  touch  of  silver  on  a  rosy  cloud. 

She  wore  no  jewels,  but  on  her  neck,  arm,  and  knee  were  the 
usual  torques  of  gold,  in  this  instance  fashioned  like  a  snake ; 
and  her  dress  was  of  pure  white  linen  of  excessive  fineness, 
plentifully  embroidered  with  gold  and  with  the  familiar  symbols 
of  the  sun. 

Her  twin  sister,  Sorais,  was  of  a  different  and  darker  type  of 
beauty.  Her  hair  was  wavy  like  Nyleptha's  but  coal-black,  and 
fell  in  masses  on  her  shoulders  ;  her  complexion  was  olive,  her 
eyes  large,  dark  and  lustrous  ;  the  lips  were  full,  and  I  thought 
rather  cruel.  Somehow  her  face,  quiet  and  even  cold  as  it  was, 
gave  an  idea  of  passion  in  repose,  and  caused  one  to  wonder 
involuntarily  what  its  aspect  would  be  if  anything  occurred  to 
break  the  calm.  It  reminded  me  of  the  deep  sea,  that  even  on 
the  bluest  days  never  loses  its  visible  stamp  of  power,  and  in  its 
murmuring  sleep  is  yet  instinct  with  the  spirit  of  the  storm. 
Her  figure,  like  her  sisters,  was  almost  perfect  in  its  curves  and 
outlines,  but  a  trifle  more  rounded,  and  her  dress  was  absolutely 
the  same. 

As  this  lovely  pair  swept  onwards  to  their  respective  thrones, 
amid  the  deep  attentive  silence  of  the  Court,  I  was  bound  to 
confess  to  myself  that  they  did  indeed  fulfil  my  idea  of  royalty. 
Royal  they  were  in  every  way — in  form,  in  grace,  and  queenly 
dignity,  and  in  the  barbaric  splendour  of  their  attendant  pomp. 
But  methought  that  they  needed  no  guards  or  gold  to  proclaim 
their  power  and  bind  the  loyalty  of  wayward  m.en.  A  glance 
from  those  bright  eyes  or  a  smile  from  those  sweet  lips,  and 
while  the  red  blood  runs  in  the  veins  of  youth  women  such 
as  these  will  never  lack  subjects  ready  to  do  their  biddings  to 
the  death. 

But  after  all  they  were  women  first  and  queens  afterwards, 
ird  therefore  not  devoid  of  curiosity.     As  they  passed  to  their 


The  Sister  Queens.  131 

Beats  I  saw  both  of  them  glance  swiftly  in  our  direction.  I  saw, 
too,  that  their  eyes  passed  by  me,  seeing  nothing  to  charm  them 
in  the  person  of  an  insignificant  and  grizzled  old  man.  Then 
they  looked  with  evident  astonishment  on  the  grim  form  of  old 
Umslopogaas,  who  raised  his  axe  in  salutation.  Attracted  next 
by  the  splendour  of  Good's  apparel,  for  a  second  their  glance  rest- 
ed on  him  like  a  humming  moth  upon  a  flower,  then  off  it  darted 
to  where  Sir  Henry  Curtis  stood,  the  sunlight  from  a  window 
playing  upon  his  yellow  hair  and  peaked  beard,  and  marking 
out  the  outlines  of  his  massive  frame  against  the  twilight  of  the 
somewhat  gloomy  hall.  He  raised  his  eyes,  and  they  met 
the  fair  Nyleptha's  full,  and  thus  for  the  first  time  the  goodhest 
man  and  woman  that  it  has  ever  been  my  lot  to  see  looked  one 
upon  another.  And  why  it  was  I  know  not,  but  I  saw  the  s^ift 
blood  run  up  beneath  Nyleptha's  skin  as  the  pink  lights  run  up 
the  morning  sky.  Red  grew  her  fair  bosom  and  shapely  arm, 
red  the  swanlike  neck ;  the  rounded  cheeks  blushed  red  as  the 
petals  of  a  rose,  and  then  the  crimson  flood  sank  back  to  whence 
it  came,  and  left  her  pale  and  trembling. 

I  glanced  at  Sir  Henry.     He,  too,  had  coloured  up  to  the 
eyes. 

•  Oh,  my  word  ! '  thought  I  to  myself,  '  the  ladies  have  come 
on  the  stage,  and  now  we  may  look  to  the  plot  to  develop  it  - 
self.'  And  I  sighed  and  shook  my  head,  knowing  that  the 
beauty  of  a  woman  is  like  the  beauty  of  the  lightning — a  de- 
structive thing  and  a  cause  of  desolation.  By  the  time  that 
I  had  finished  my  reflections  both  the  Queens  were  on  the 
thrones,  for  all  this  had  happened  in  about  four  seconds. 
Once  more  the  unseen  trumpets  blared  out,  and  then  the 
Court  seated  itself,  and  Queen  Sorais  motioned  to  us  to  do 
likewise. 

Next  from  among  the  crowd  whither  he  had  withdrawn  step- 
ped forward  our  guide,  the  old  gentleman  who  had  towed  us 
ashore,  holding  by  the  hand  the  girl  whom  we  had  seen  first 
and  afterwards  rescued  from  the  hippopotamus.  Having  made 
obeisance  he  proceeded  to  address  the  Queens,  evidently  de- 
scribing to  them  the  way  and  place  where  we  had  been  found. 
It  was  most  amusing  to  watch  the  astonishment,  not  unmixed 
with  fear,  reflected  upon  their  faces  as  they  listened  to  his  tale. 
Clearly  they  could  not  understand  how  we  had  reached  the 
lake,  and  been  found  floating  on  it,  and  were  inclined  to  at- 
tribute our  presence  to  supernatural  causes.     Then   the  narra- 


132  Allan  Qiiatermain, 

tive  proceeded,  as  I  judged  from  the  frequent  appeals  that  our 
guide  made  to  the  girl,  to  the  point  where  we  had  shot  the  hippo- 
potami, and  we  at  once  perceived  that  there  was  something  very 
wrong  about  those  hippopotami,  for  the  history  was  frequently 
interrupted  by  indignant  exclamations  from  the  little  group  of 
white-robed  priests  and  even  from  the  courtiers,  while  the  two 
Queens  listened  with  an  amazed  expression,  especially  when  our 
guide  pointed  to  the  rifles  in  our  hands  as  being  the  means  of 
destruction.     And  here,  to  make  matters  clear,  I  may  as  well 
explain  at  once  that  the  inhabitants  of  Zu-vendis  are  sun-wor- 
shippers, and  that  for  some  reason  or  other  the  hippopotamus 
is  a  sacred  animal  among  them.     Not  that  they  do  not  kill  it, 
because  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  they  slaughter  thousands 
— which  are  specially  preserved  in  large  lakes  up  the  countr}- — 
and  use  their  hides  for  armour  for  soldiers,  but  this  does  not 
prevent  them  from  considering  these  animals  as  sacred  to  the 
sun.     Now,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  the  particular  hippopot- 
ami we  had  shot  were  a  family  of  tame  animals  that  were  kept 
at  the  mouth  of  the  port  and  daily  fed  by  priests  whose  special 
duty  it  was  to  attend  to  them.     When  we  shot  them  I  thought 
that  the  brutes  were  suspiciously  tame,  and  this  was,  as  we 
afterwards  ascertained,  the  cause  of  it.      Thus   it  came  about 
that  in  attempting  to  show  off  we  had  committed  sacrilege  of  a 
most  aggravated  nature. 

When  our  guide  had  finished  his  tale,  the  old  man  with  the 
\ov,2,  beard  and  round  cap,  whose  apperance  I  have  already  de- 
scribed, and  who  was,  as  I  have  said,  the  High  Priest  of  the 
country,  and  known  by  the  name  of  Agon,  rose  and  com- 
menced an  impassioned  harangue.  I  did  not  like  the  look 
of  his  cold  grey  eye  as  he  fixed  it  on  us.  I  should  have 
liked  it  still  less  had  I  known  that  in  the  name  of  the  out- 
raged majesty  of  his  god  he  was  demanding  that  the  whole  lot 
of  us  should  be  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  by  means  of  being 
burnt  alive. 

After  he  had  finished  speaking  the  Queen  Sorais  add'-essed 
him  in  a  soft  and  musical  voice,  and  appeared,  to  judge  from 
his  gestures  of  dissent,  to  be  putting  the  other  side  of  the  ques- 
tion before  him.  Then  Nyleptha  spoke  in  liquid  accents. 
Little  did  we  know  that  she  was  pleading  for  our  lives.  Finally, 
she  turned  and  addressed  a  tall,  soldier-like  man  of  middle  age 
with  a  black  beard  and  a  long  plain  sword,  whose  name,  as  we 
afterwards  lean.f.  was  Nasta,  and  wlio  was  the  greatest  lord  in 


The  Sister  Queens,  133 

the  country ;  apparently  appealing  to  him  for  support.  Now 
when  Sir  Henry  had  caught  her  eye  and  she  had  blushed  so 
rosy  red,  I  had  seen  that  the  incident  had  not  escaped  this 
man's  notice,  and  what  is  more,  that  it  was  eminently  disagree- 
able to  him,  for  he  bit  his  lip,  and  his  hand  tightened  on  his 
sword-hilt.  Afterwards  we  learnt  that  he  was  an  aspirant  for 
the  hand  of  this  Queen  in  marriage,  which  accounted  for  it. 
This  being  so,  Nyleptha  could  not  have  appealed  to  a  worse 
person,  for,  speaking  in  slow,  heavy  tones,  he  appeared  to  con- 
firm all  that  the  High  Priest  Agon  said.  As  he  spoke,  Sorais 
put  her  elbow  on  her  knee,  and,  resting  her  chin  on  her  hand, 
looked  at  him  with  a  suppressed  smile  upon  her  lips,  as  though 
she  saw  through  the  man,  and  was  determined  to  be  his  match  ; 
but  Nyleptha  grew  very  angry.  Her  cheek  flushed,  her  eyes 
flashed,  and  she  did  indeed  look  lovely.  Finally  she  turned  to 
Agon  and  seemed  to  give  some  sort  of  qualified  assent,  for  he 
bowed  at  her  words  ;  and  as  she  spoke  she  moved  her  hands 
as  though  to  emphasise  her  words  ;  whilst  all  the  time  Sorais 
kept  her  chin  on  her  hand  and  smiled.  Then  suddenly  Nylep- 
tha made  a  sign,  and  the  trumpets  blew  again,  and  everybody 
rose  to  leave  the  hall  save  ourselves  and  the  guards,  whom  she 
motioned  to  stay. 

When  they  were  aU  gone  she  bent  forward  and,  smiling 
sweetly,  partially  by  signs  and  partially  by  exclamations  made  it 
clear  to  ue  that  she  was  very  anxious  to  know  where  we  came 
from.  The  difficulty  was  how  to  explain,  but  at  last  an  idea 
struck  me.  I  had  my  large  pocket-book  in  my  pocket  and  a 
pencil.  Taking  it  out,  I  made  a  little  sketch  of  a  lake,  and 
then  as  best  I  could  drew  the  underground  river  and  the  lake 
at  the  other  end.  When  I  had  done  this  I  advanced  to  the 
steps  of  the  throne  and  gave  it  to  her.  She  understood  it  at 
once  and  clapped  her  hands  with  delight,  and  then  descending 
from  the  thrc  -  took  it  to  her  sister  Sorais,  who  also  evidently 
understood,  isext  she  took  the  pencil  from  me,  and  after  ex- 
amining it  with  curiosity  proceeded  to  make  a  series  of  delight- 
ful httle  sketches,  the  first  representing  herself  holding  out  both 
hands  in  welcome,  and  a  man  uncommonly  like  Sir  Henry  tak- 
ing them.  Next  she  drew  a  lovely  little  picture  of  a  hippopo- 
tamus rolling  about  dying  in  the  water,  and  of  an  individual,  in 
whom  we  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  Agon  the  High  Priest, 
holding  up  his  hands  in  horror  on  the  banL  Then  followed  a 
most  alarming  picture  of  a  clicadful  fiery   furnace  and  of  the 


134  Allan  Quaternuiin, 

same  figure,  Agon,  poking  us  into  it  with  a  forked  stick.  This 
picture  perfectly  horrified  me,  but  I  was  a  Httle  reassured  when 
s'.je  nodded  sweetly  and  proceeded  to  make  a  fourth  drawing — » 
of  a  man  again  uncommonly  like  Sir  Henry,  and  of  two  women, 
in  whom  I  recognized  Sorais  and  herself,  each  with  one  arm 
around  him,  and  holding  a  sword  in  protection  over  him.  To 
all  of  these  Sorais,  who  I  saw  was  employed  in  carefully  taking 
us  all  in — especially  Curtis — signified  her  approval  by  nodding. 

At  last  Nyleptha  drew  a  final  sketch  of  a  rising  sun,  indicat- 
ing that  she  must  go,  and  that  we  should  meet  on  the  following 
morning ;  whereat  Sir  Henry  looked  so  disappointed  that  she 
saw  it,  and,  I  suppose,  by  v»'ay  of  consolation,  extended  her 
hand  to  him  to  kiss,  which  he  did  with  pious  fervour.  At 
the  same  time  Sorais,  off  whom  Good  had  never  taken  his 
eyeglass  during  the  whole  indaba  [interview],  rewarded  him  by 
giving  him  her  hand  to  kiss,  though,  while  she  did  so,  her  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  Sir  Henry.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  was  not 
implicated  in  these  proceedings ;  neither  of  them  gave  me  hex 
hand  to  kiss. 

Then  Nyleptha  turned  and  addressed  the  man  who  appeared 
to  be  in  command  of  the  bodyguard,  apparently  from  her  man- 
ner and  his  firequent  obeisances,  giving  him  very  strijigent  and 
careful  orders  ;  after  which,  with  a  somewhat  coquettish  nod  and 
smile  she  left  the  hall,  followed  by  Sorais  and  most  of  the 
guards. 

When  the  Queens  had  gone,  the  oflFicer  whom  Nyleptha  had 
addressed  came  forward  and  with  many  tokens  of  deep  respect 
led  us  from  the  hall  through  various  passages  to  a  sumptuous 
set  of  apartments  opening  out  of  a  large  central  room  lighted 
with  brazen  swinging  lamps  (for  it  was  now  dusk)  and  richly 
carpeted  and  strewn  with  couches.  On  a  table  in  the  centre  oi 
the  room  was  set  a  profusion  of  food  and  fruit,  and,  what  is 
more,  flowers.  There  was  delicious  wine  also  in  ancient-look- 
ing sealed  earthenware  flagons,  and  beautifully  chased  golden 
and  ivory  cups  to  drink  it  from.  Servants,  male  and  female, 
also  were  there  to  minister  to  us,  and  whilst  we  ate,  from  some 
recess  outside  the  apartment 

The  silver  lute  did  speak  between 
The  trumpet's  lordly  blowing  ; 

and  altogether  we  found  ourselves  In  a  sort  of  earthlv  paradise 
wiiich  waa  only  disturbed  by  the  \  ision  of  that  disgusimg  High 


TJu  Sister  Queens.  135 

Priest  who  intended  to  commit  us  to  the  flames.  But  so  very 
weary  were  we  with  our  labours  that  we  could  scarcely  keep  our- 
selves awake  through  the  sumptuous  meal,  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
over  we  indicated  that  we  desired  to  sleep.  So  they  led  us  off, 
and  would  have  given  us  a  room  each,  but  we  made  it  clear 
that  we  would  sleep  two  in  a  room.  As  a  further  precaution 
against  surprise  we  left  Umslopogaas  with  his  axe  to  sleep  in  the 
main  chamber  near  the  curtained  doorways  leading  to  the  apart- 
ments which  we  occupied  respectively,  Good  and  I  in  one,  and 
Sir  Henry  and  Alphonse  in  the  other.  Then  throwing  off  our 
clothes,  with  the  exception  of  the  mail  shirts,  which  we  consid- 
ered it  safer  to  keep  on,  we  flung  ourselves  down  upon  the  low 
and  luxiuiant  couches,  and  drew  the  silk-embroidered  coverlids 
over  us. 

In  two  minutes  I  was  just  dropping  off  when  I  was  aroused 
Dy  Good's  voice. 

'  I  say,  Quatermain,'  he  said,  *  did  you  ever  see  such  eyes  ? ' 

*  Eyes  ! '  I  said,  crossly ;  *  what  eyes  ?  ' 

'  Why,  the  Queen's,  of  course  !  Sorais,  I  mean — at  least  I 
think  that  is  her  name.' 

'  Oh,  I  don't  know,'  I  yawned  ;  'I  didn't  notice  them  much  ; 
I  suppose  they  are  good  eyes,'  and  again  I  dropped  off. 

Five  minutes  or  so  elapsed,  and  I  was  once  more  awakened. 

'  I  say,  Quatermain,'  said  the  voice. 

'  Well,'  I  answered  testily,  *  what  is  it  now  ?  * 

*  Did  ye  notice  her  ankle  ?     The  shape * 

This  was  more  than  I  could  stand.  By  my  bed  stood  the 
veldtschoons  I  had  been  wearing.  Moved  quite  beyond  myself 
I  took  them  up  and  threw  them  straight  at  Good's  head — and 
hit  it. 

After  that  I  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just,  and  a  very  heavy  sleep 
it  must  be.  As  for  Good,  I  don't  know  if  he  went  to  sleep,  or 
if  he  continued  to  pass  Sorais'  beauties  in  mental  review,  and 
what  is  more,  I  don't  care. 


13^  Allan  QuaUrmain, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ABOUT   THE   ZU-VENDI   PEOPLE. 

And  now  the  curtain  is  down  for  a  few  hours,  and  the  actors 
in  this  novel  drama  are  plunged  in  dewy  sleep.  Perhaps  we 
should  except  Nyleptha,  whom  the  reader  may,  if  poetically 
incUned,  imagine  lying  in  her  bed  of  state  encompassed  by 
her  maidens,  tiring  women,  guards,  and  all  the  other  people 
and  appurtenances  that  surround  a  throne,  and  yet  not  able  to 
slumber  for  thinking  of  the  strangers  who  had  visited  a  country 
where  no  such  strangers  had  ever  come  before,  and  wondering, 
as  she  lay  awake,  who  they  were  and  what  their  past  had  been, 
and  if  she  was  ugly  compared  to  the  women  of  their  native  place. 
I,  however,  not  being  poetically  inclined,  will  take  advantage 
of  the  lull  to  give  some  account  of  the  people  among  whom  we 
found  ourselves,  compiled,  needless  to  state,  from  information 
which  we  subsequently  collected. 

The  name  of  this  countr)^,  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  is  Zu- 
Vendis,  from  Zu,  'yellow,'  and  Vendis,  'place  or  country.' 
Why  it  is  called  the  Yellow  Country  I  have  never  been  able  to 
ascertain  accurately,  nor  do  the  inhabitants  themselves  know. 
Three  reasons  are,  however,  given,  each  of  which  would  suffice 
to  account  for  it.  The  first  is  that  the  name  owes  its  origin  to 
the  great  quantity  of  gold  that  is  found  in  the  land.  Indeed, 
in  this  respect  Zu- Vendis  is  a  veritable  Eldorado,  the  precious 
metal  being  extraordinarily  plentiful.  At  present  it  is  collected 
from  purely  alluvial  diggings,  which  we  subsequently  inspected, 
and  which  are  situated  within  a  day's  journey  from  Milosis, 
being  mostly  found  in  pockets  and  in  nuggets  weighing  from 
an  ounce  up  to  six  or  seven  pounds  in  weight.  But  other  dig- 
gings of  a  similar  nature  are  known  to  exist,  and  I  have  besides 
seen  great  veins  of  gold-bearing  quartz.  In  Zu- Vendis  gold  is 
a  much  commoner  metal  than  silver,  and  thus  it  has  curiously 
enough  come  to  pass  that  silver  is  the  legal  tender  of  the 
country. 

The  second  reason  given  is,  that  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year  the  native  grasses  of  the  country,  which  are  very  sweet  and 
good,  turn  as  yellow  as  rioe  corn  ;  and  the  third  arises  ixom  a 


About  the  Zu-  Vendi  People.  137 

tradition  that  the  people  were  originally  yellow  skinned,  but 
grew  white  after  living  for  many  generations  upon  these   high 
lands.     Zu-Vendis  is  a  country  about  the  size  of  France ;  is, 
roughly  speaking,  oval  in  shape,  and  on  every  side  cut  off  from 
the  surrounding  territory  by  illimitable  forests  of  impenetrable 
thorn,  beyond  which  are  said  to  be  hundreds  of  miles  of  mo- 
rasses, deserts,  and  great  mountains.     It  is,  in  short,  a  huge, 
high  tableland  rising  up  in  the  centre  of  the  dark  continent, 
much  as  in  southern  Africa  flat-topped  mountains  rise  from 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  veldt.    Milosis  itself  lies,  according 
to  my  aneroid,  at  a  level  of  about  nine  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea,  but  most  of  the  land  is  even  higher,  the  greatest  elevation 
of  the  open  country  being,  I  believe,  about  eleven  thousand 
feet.     As  a  consequence  the  climate  is,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, a  cold  one,  being  very  similar  to  that  of  southern  England, 
only  brighter  and  not  so  rainy.     The  land  is,  however,  exceed- 
ingly fertile,   and  grows  all   cereals  and  temperate  fruits  and 
timber  to  perfection ;  and  in  the  lower  lying  parts  even  pro- 
duces a  hardy  variety  of  sugar-cane.     Coal  is  found  in  great 
abundance,   and  in  many  places  crops  out  from  the  surface ; 
and  so  is  pure    marble,  both    black   and  white.      The  same 
may  be  said  of  almost    every  metal  except  silver,  which  is 
scarce,  and  only  to  be  obtained  from  a  range  of  mountains 
in  the  north. 

Zu-Vendis  comprises  in  her  boundaries  a  great  variety  of 
scenery,  including  two  ranges  of  snow-clad  mountains,  one  on 
the  western  boundary  beyond  the  impenetrable  belt  of  thorn 
forest,  and  the  other  piercing  the  country  from  north  to  south, 
and  passing  at  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles  from  Milosis, 
from  which  town  its  higher  peaks  are  distinctly  visible.  This 
range  forms  the  chief  watershed  of  the  land.  There  are  also 
three  large  lakes — the  biggest,  namely,  that  whereon  we  emerged, 
and  which  is  named  Milosis  after  the  city,  covering  some  two 
hundred  square  miles  of  country — and  numerous  small  ones, 
some  of  them  salt. 

The  population  of  this  favoured  land  is,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, dense,  numbering  at  a  rough  estimate  from  ten  to  twelve 
millions.  It  is  almost  purely  agricultural  in  its  habits,  and 
divided  into  great  classes  as  in  civihsed  countries.  There  is  a 
territorial  nobility,  a  considerable  middle  class,  formed  princi- 
pally of  merchants,  officers  of  the  army,  &c. ;  but  the  great 
bulk  of  the  people  are  well-to-do  peasants  who  live  upon  the 
I 


1,38  Allan  Quatermain, 

lands  of  the  lords,  from  whom  they  hold  under  a  species  of 
feudal  tenure.     The  best  bred  people  in  the  country  are,  as  I 
think  I  have  said,  pure  whites  with  a  somewhat  southern  cast 
of  countenance  ;  but  the  common  herd  are  much  darker,  though 
they  do  not   show  any  negro  or  other  African  characteristics. 
As  to  their  descent  I  can  give  no  certain  information.     Their 
written  records,  which  extend  back  for  about  a  thousand  years, 
give  no  hint  of  it.     One  very  ancient  chronicler  does  indeed, 
in  alluding  to  some  old  tradition  that  existed  in  his  day,  talk  of 
it  as  having   probably  originally  *  come  down  with  the  people 
from  the  coast,'  but  that  may  mean  little  or  nothing.    In  short 
the  origin  of  the  Zu-Vendi  is  lost  in  the  mists  of  time.  Whence 
they  came  or  of  what  race  they  are  no  man  knows.     Their  ar- 
chitecture and  some  of  their  sculptures  suggest  an  Egyptian  or 
possibly  an  Assyrian   origin ;  but  it  is  well  known  that  their 
present  remarkable  style  of  building  has  only  sprung  up  within 
^he  last  eight  hundred  years,  and  they  certainly  retain  no  traces 
of  Egyptian  theology  or  customs.     Again,  their  appearance  and 
some  of  their  habits  are  rather  Jewish  ;  but  here  again  it  seems 
hardly  conceivable  that  they  should  have  utterly  lost  all  traces 
of  the   Jewish  religion.     Still,  for  aught  I  know,  they  may  be 
one  of  the  lost  ten  tribes  whom  people  are  so  fond  of  discover- 
ing all  over  the  world,  or  they  may  not.     I  do  not  know,  and 
so  can  only  describe  them  as  I  find  them,  and  leave  wiser  heads 
than  mine  to  make  what  they  can  out  of  it,  if  indeed  this 
account    should   ever   be    read    at  all,  which   is    exceedingly 
doubtful. 

And  now  after  I  have  said  all  this,  I  am,  after  all,  going  to 
hazard  a  theory  of  my  own,  though  it  is  only  a  very  little  one, 
as  the  young  lady  said  in  mitigation  of  her  baby.  This  theory 
is  founded  on  a  legend  which  I  have  heard  among  the  Arabs 
on  the  cast  coast,  which  is  to  the  effect  that  '  more  than  two 
thousand  years  aa;o '  there  wjere  troubles  in  the  country  which 
was  known  as  Babylonia,  and  that  thereon  a  vast  horde  of 
Persians  came  down  to  Bushire,  where  they  took  ship  and  were 
driven  by  the  north-east  monsoon  to  the  east  coast  of  Africa, 
where,  according  to  the  legend,  *  the  sun  and  fire  worshippers' 
fell  into  conflict  with  the  belt  of  Arab  settlers  who  even  then 
were  settled  on  the  east  coast,  and  finally  broke  their  way 
through  them,  and,  vanishing  into  the  interior,  were  no  more 
seen.  Now,  I  ask,  is  it  not  at  least  ])ossible  that  the  Zu-Vendi 
people  are  the  descendants  of  these  '  sun  and  fire  worshippers  ' 


A  hout  tJie  Zu  -  Vendi  People,  1 39 

who  broke  through  the  Arabs  and  vanished  ?  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  is  a  good  deal  in  their  characters  and  customs  that 
taUies  with  the  somewhat  vague  ideas  that  I  have  of  Persians. 
Of  course  we  have  no  books  of  reference  here,  but  Sir  Henry 
says  that  if  his  memory  does  not  fail  him,  there  was  a  tremen- 
dous revolt  in  Babylon  about  500  B.C.,  whereon  a  vast  multi- 
tude were  expelled  the  city.  Anyhow,  it  is  a  well-established 
fact  that  there  have  been  many  separate  emigrations  of  Per- 
sians from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  east  coast  of  Africa  up  to  as 
lately  as  seven  hundred  years  ago.  There  are  Persian  tombs 
at  Kilwa,  on  the  east  coast,  still  in  good  repair,  which  bear 
dates  shewing  them  to  be  just  seven  hundred  years  old.* 

In  addition  to  being  an  agricultural  people,    the  Zu- Vendi 
are,  oddly  enough,  excessively  warlike,  and  as  they  cannot  from 
the  exigencies  of  their  position  make  war  upon  other  nations, 
they  fight  among  each  other  like  the  famed  Kilkenny  cats,  with 
the  happy  result  that  the  population  never  outgrows  the  power 
of  the  country  to  support  it.     This  habit  of  theirs  is  largely  fos- 
tered by  the  political  condition  of  the  country.     The  monarchy 
is  nominally  an  absolute  one,  save  in  so  far  as  it  is  tempered  by 
the  power  of  the  priests  and  the  informal  council  of  the  great 
lords  ;  but,  as  in  many  other  such  institutions,  the  king's  writ 
does  not  run  unquestioned  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land.     In  short,  the  whole  system  is  a  purely  feudal  one 
(though  absolute  serfdom  or  slavery  are  unknown),  all  the  great 
lords  holding  nominally  from  the  throne,  but  a  number  of  them 
being  practically  independent,  having   the   po^yer   of  life  and 
death,  waging  war  against  and  making  peace  with  their  neigh- 
bours as  the  whim  or  their  interests  lead  them,  and  even  on  ac- 


♦  There  is  another  theory  which  might  accoxint  for  the  origin  of  the  Zu- 
Vendi  which  does  not  seem  to  have  struck  my  friend  Mr.  Quatermain  and  his 
companions,  and  that  is,  thai  they  are  descendants  of  the  PhGenicians.  The 
cradle  of  the  Phoenician  race  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  Persian  Gulf.  Thence,  as  there  is  good  evidence  to  show,  they  emigrated 
in  two  streams,  one  of  which  took  possession  of  the  shores  of  Palestine,  while  the 
other  is  supposed  by  savants  to  have  immigrated  down  the  coast  of  Eastern 
Africa,  where,  near  Mozambique,  signs  and  remains  of  their  occupation  of  the 
country  are  not  wanting.  Indeed,  it  would  have  been  very  extraordinary  if  they 
did  not,  when  leaving  the  Persian  Gulf,  make  straight  for  the  East  Coast, 
seeing  that  the  north-east  moonsoon  blows  for  sLx  months  in  the  year  dead  in 
that  direction,  while  for  the  other  sLx  months  it  blows  back  again.  And,  by  way 
of  illustraiint'  the  probability.  I  may  add  that  to  this  day  a  very  extensive  trade 
is  carried  on  between  Uie  Persian  Gulf  and  Lamu  and  other  East  African  ports 
as  far  south  as  Mad^ascar,  which  is  of  course  the  ancient  Ebony  Isle  ol 
the  '  Arabian  Nights.' 


140  Allan  Quatennairu 

casion  rising  in  open  rebellion  against  their  royal  master  or  mis-- 
tress,  and,  sately  shut  up  in  their  castles  and  fenced  cities,  far 
from  the   seat   of  government,  successfully  defying  them  for 
years. 

Zu-Vendis  has  had  its  king-makers  as  well  as  England,  a  fact 
that  will  be  appreciated  when  I  state  that  eight  different  dynas- 
ties have  sat  upon  the  tiirone  during  the  last  one  thousand 
years,  every  one  of  which  took  its  rise  from  some  noble  family 
that  succeeded  in  grasping  the  purple  after  a  sanguinary  strug- 
gle. At  the  date  of  our  arrival  in  the  country-  things  were  a 
little  better  than  they  had  been  for  some  centuries,  the  last 
kmg,  the  father  of  Nyleptha  and  Sorais,  having  been  an  excep- 
tionally able  and  vigorous  ruler,  and,  as  a  consequence,  he  kept 
down  the  power  of  the  priests  and  nobles.  On  his  death,  two 
years  before  we  reached  Zu-Vtndis,  the  twin  sisters,  his  chil- 
dren, were,  following  an  ancient  precedent,  called  to  the 
throne,  since  an  attempt  to  exclude  either  would  instantly  have 
provoked  a  sanguinary  civil  war  ;  but  it  was  generally  felt  in  the 
country  that  this  measure  was  a  most  unsatisfactory  one,  and 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  be  permanent.  Indeed,  as  it  was, 
the  various  intrigues  that  were  set  on  foot  by  ambitious  nobles  to 
obtain  the  hand  of  one  or  other  of  the  queens  in  marriage  had 
disquieted  the  country,  and  iLe  general  opinion  was  that  there 
would  be  bloodshed  before  long. 

I  will  now  pass  on  to  the  question  of  the  Zu-Vendi  religion, 
which  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  sun-worship  of  a  pronounced 
and  highly  developed  character.  Around  this  sun-worship  is 
grouped  the  entire  social  system  of  the  Zu-Vendi.  It  sends  its 
roots  through  every  institution  and  custom  of  the  land.  From 
the  cradle  to  the  grave  the  Zu-Vendi  follows  the  sun  in  every 
sense  of  the  saying.  As  an  infant  he  is  solemnly  held  up  in  its 
light  and  dedicated  to  *  the  symbol  of  good,  the  expression  of 
I)Ower,  and  the  hope  of  eternity,' the  ceremony  answering  to  our 
bil^tism.  Whilst  yet  a  tiny  child,  his  parents  point  out  the 
glorious  orb  as  the  presence  of  a  visible  and  benificcnt  god, 
and  he  worships  it  at  its  up-rising  and  down-setting.  Then 
when  still  quite  small,  he  goes,  holding  fast  to  the  pendant  end 
of  liis  mother's  *  kaf '  (toga),  up  to  the  temple  of  the  Sun  of  tke 
nearest  city,  and  there,  when  at  midday  the  bright  beams  strike 
down  upon  the  golden  central  altar  and  beat  back  the  fire  that 
burns  thereon,  he  hears  the  white-robed  priests  raise  their 
sglemn  chant  of  praise  and  sees  the  people  fail  down  to  adore 


About  tJie  Zu-  Vendi  People,  141 

and  then,  amidst  the  blowing  of  the  golden  trumpets,  watches 
the  sacrifice  thrown  into  the  fiery  fijrnace  beneath  the  altar 
Here  he  comes  again  to  be  declared  *  a  man  '  by  the  priests,  and. 
consecrated  to  war  and  to  good  works  ;  here  before  the  solemn 
altar  he  leads  his  bride  ;  and  here  too,  if  differences  shall  un- 
happily arise,  he  divorces  her. 

And  so  on,  down  Hfe's  long  pathway  till  the  last  mile  is 
travelled,  and  he  comes  again  armed  indeed,  and  with  dignity, 
but  no  longer  a  man.  Here  they  bear  him  dead,  and  lay  his 
bier  upon  the  falling  brazen  doors  before  the  eastern  altar,  and 
when  the  last  ray  from  the  setting  sun  falls  upon  his  white  face 
the  bolts  are  drawn  and  he  vanishes  into  the  furnace  beneath 
and  is  ended. 

The  priests  of  the  Sun  do  not  marry,  but  are  recruited  by 
young  men  specially  devoted  to  the  work  by  their  parents  and 
supported  by  the  State.     The  nomination  to  the  higher  offices 
of  the  priesthood  lies  with  the  Crown,  but  once  appointed  the 
nominees  cannot  be  dispossessed,  and  it  is  scarcely  too  much 
to  say  that  they  really  rule  the  land.     To  begin  with,  they  are 
a  united  body  sworn  to  obedience  and  secrecy,  so  that  an  order 
issued  by  the  High  Priest  at  Milosis  will  be  instantly  and  un- 
hesitatingly acted  upon  by  the  resident  priest  of  a  little  country 
town  three  or  four  hundred  miles  off.     They  are  the  judges  of 
the  land,  criminal  and  civil,    an  appeal  lying  only  to  the  lord 
paramount  of  the  district,  and  from  him  to  the  king ;  and  they 
have,  of  course,  practically  unlimited  jurisdiction  over  religious 
and  moral  offences,  together  with  a  right  of  excommunication, 
which,  as  in  the  faith  of  more  highly  civilized  lands,  is  a  very 
effective  weapon.     Indeed,  their  rights  and  powers  are  almost 
unlimited  ;  but  I  may  as  well  state  here  that  the  priests  of  the 
Sun  are  wise  in  their  own  generation,  and  do  not  push  things 
too  far.     It  is  but  very  seldom  that  they  go  to  extremes  against 
anybody,  being  more  inclined  to  exercise   the  prerogative  of 
mercy  than  run  the  risk  of  exasperating  the  powerful  and  vigor- 
ous-minded people  on  whose  neck  they  have  set  their  yoke,  lest 
it  should  rise  and  break  it  off  altogether. 

Another  source  of  the  power  of  the  priests  is  their  practical 
monopoly  of  learning,  and  their  very  considerable  astronomical 
knowledge,  which  enables  them  to  keep  a  hold  on  the  popular 
mind  by  predicting  eclipses  and  even  comets.  In  Zu-Vendis 
only  a  few  of  the  upper  classes  can  read  and  write,  but  nearly 


142  Allan  Quatei-main, 

all  the  priests  have  this  knowledge,  and  are  therefore  looked 
upon  as  learned  men. 

The  law  of  the  country  is,  on  the  whole,  mild  and  just,  but 
differs  in  several  respects  from,  our  civilized  law.  For  instance, 
the  law  of  England  is  much  more  severe  upon  offences  against 
property  than  against  the  person,  as  becomes  a  people  whose 
ruling  passion  is  money.  A  man  may  kick  his  wife  to  death  or 
inflict  horrible  sufferings  upon  his  children  at  a  much  cheaper 
rate  of  punishment  than  he  can  compound  for  the  theft  of  a 
pair  of  old  boots.  In  Zu-Vendis  this  is  not  so,  for  there  they 
rightly  or  wrongly  look  upon  the  person  as  of  more  consequence 
than  goods  and  chattels,  and  not,  as  in  England,  as  a  sort  of 
secondary  appendage  to  the  latter.  For  murder  the  punishment 
is  death,  for  treason  death,  for  defrauding  the  orphan  and  the 
widow,  for  sacrilege,  and  for  attempting  to  quit  the  country 
(which  is  looked  on  as  a  sacrilege)  death.  In  each  case  the 
method  of  execution  is  the  same,  and  a  rather  awful  one.  The 
culprit  is  thrown  alive  into  the  fiery  furnace  beneath  one  of  the 
altars  to  the  Sun.  For  all  other  offences,  including  the  offence 
of  idleness,  the  punishment  is  forced  labour  upon  the  vast  na- 
tional buildings  which  are  always  going  on  in  some  part  of  the 
country,  with  or  without  periodical  floggings,  according  to  the 
crime. 

The  social  system  of  the  Zu-Vendi  allows  considerable 
liberty  to  the  individual,  provided  he  does  not  offend  against 
the  laws  and  customs  of  the  country.  They  are  polygamous  in 
theory,  though  most  of  them  have  only  one  wife  on  account  of 
the  expense.  By  law  a  man  is  bound  to  provide  a  separate  es- 
tablishment for  each  wife.  The  first  wife  also  is  the  legal  wife, 
and  her  children  are  said  to  be  '  of  the  house  of  the  Father.' 
The  children  of  the  other  wives  are  of  the  houses  of  their  res- 
pective mothers.  This  does  not,  however,  imply  any  slur  upon 
either  mother  or  children.  Again,  a  first  wife  can,  on  entering 
into  the  married  state,  make  a  bargain  that  her  husband  shall 
marry  no  other  wife.  This,  however,  is  very  rarely  done,  as  the 
women  are  the  great  upholders  of  polygamy,  which  not  only 
provides  for  their  surplus  numbers  but  gives  greater  importance 
to  the  first  wife,  who  is  thus  practically  at  the  head  of  seve- 
ral households.  Marriage  is  looked  upon  as  primarily  a  civil 
contract,  and,  subject  to  certain  conditions  and  to  a  proper  pro- 
vision for  children,  is  dissoluble  at  the  will  of  both  contracting 
parties,  the  divorce,  or  *  unloosing,'  being  formally  and  cere- 


About  the  Zu-  Vendi  People,  143 

moniously  accomplished  by  going  through  certain  portions  of 
the  marriage  ceremony  backward. 

The  Zu- Vendi  are  on  the  whole  a  very  kindly,  pleasant  and 
light-hearted  people.  They  are  not  great  traders  and  care  little 
about  money,  only  working  to  earn  enough  to  support  them- 
selves in  that  class  of  life  in  which  they  were  born.  They  are 
exceedingly  conservative,  and  look  with  disfavour  on  changes. 
Their  legal  tender  is  silver,  cut  into  little  squares  of  different 
weights ;  gold  is  the  baser  coin,  and  is  about  of  the  same 
value  as  our  silver.  It  is,  however,  much  prized  for  its  beauty, 
and  largely  used  for  ornaments  and  decorative  purposes.  Most 
of  the  trade,  however,  is  carried  on  by  means  of  sale  and  bar- 
ter, payment  being  made  in  kind.  Agriculture  is  the  great 
business  of  the  country,  and  is  really  well  understood  and  car- 
ried out,  most  of  the  available  acreage  being  under  cultivation. 
Great  attention  is  also  given  to  the  breeding  of  cattle  and  horses, 
the  latter  being  unsurpassed  by  any  I  have  ever  seen  either  in 
Europe  or  Africa. 

The  land  belongs  theoretically  to  the  Crown,  and  under  the 
Crown  to  the  great  lords,  who  again  di\ide  it  among  smaller 
lords,  and  so  on  down  to  the  little  peasant  farmer  who  works 
his  forty  *  reestu '  (acres)  on  a  system  of  half-profits  with  his 
immediate  lord.  In  fact  the  whole  system  is,  as  I  have  said, 
distinctly  feudal,  and  it  interested  us  much  to  meet  with  such 
an  old  friend  far  in  the  unknown  heart  of  Africa. 

The  taxes  are  very  heavy.     The  State   takes   a  third  of  a 
man's  total  earnings,  and  the  priesthood  about  five  per  cent,  on 
the  remainder.     But  on  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  through  any 
cause  falls  into  bona  fide  misfortune  the  State  supports  him 
in  the  position  of  life  to  which  he  belongs.     If  he  is  idle,  how- 
ever, he  is  sent  to  work  on  the  Government  undertakings,  and 
the  State  looks  after  his  wives  and  children.     The  State  also 
makes  all  the  roads  and  builds  all  town   houses,  about  which 
great  care  is  shown,  letting  them  out  to  families  at  a  small  rent 
It  also  keeps  up  a  standing  army  of  about  twenty  thousand  men, 
and  provides  watchmen,  &:c.     In  return  for  their  five  per  cent, 
the  priests  attend  to  the  service  of  the  temples,  carry  out  all  re- 
ligious ceremonies,  and  keep  schools,  where  they  teach  what- 
ever they  think  desirable,  which  is  not  very  much.      Some  of 
the  temples  also  possess  private  property,  but  priests  as  indi- 
viduals cannot  hold  property. 


144  Allan  Quatennain, 

And  now  comes  a  question  which  I  find  some  difficulty  in 
answering.  Are  the  Zu-Vendi  a  civilized  or  a  barbarous  people  ? 
Sometimes  I  think  the  one,  sometimes  the  other.  In  some 
branches  of  art  they  have  attained  the  very  highest  proficiency. 
Take  for  instance  their  buildings  and  their  statuary.  I  do  not 
think  that  the  latter  can  be  equalled  either  in  beauty  or  imag- 
inative power  anywhere  in  the  world,  and  as  for  the  former  it 
may  have  been  rivalled  in  ancient  Egypt,  but  I  am  sure  that  it 
has  never  been  since.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  totally 
ignorant  of  many  other  arts.  Till  Sir  Henry,  who  happened  to 
know  something  about  it,  showed  them  how  to  do  it  by  mixing 
silica  and  lime,  they  could  not  make  a  piece  of  glass,  and  their 
crockery  is  rather  primitive.  A  water-clock  is  their  nearest  ap- 
proach to  a  watch ;  indeed,  ours  delighted  them  exceedingly. 
They  know  nothing  about  steam,  electricity  or  gunpowder,  and 
mercifully  for  themselves  nothing  about  printing  or  the  penny 
post.  Thus  they  are  spared  many  evils,  for  of  a  truth  our  age 
has  learnt  the  wisdom  of  the  old  world  saying,  '  He  who  in- 
creaseth  knowledge,  increaseth  sorrow.' 

As  regards  their  religion,  it  is  a  natural  one  for  imaginative 
people  who  know  no  better,  and  might  therefore  be  expected 
to  turn  to  the  sun  and  worship  him  as  the  all-Father,  but  it 
cannot  justly  be  called  elevating  or  spiritual.  It  is  true  that 
they  do  sometimes  speak  of  the  sun  as  the  'garment  of  the 
Spirit,'  but  it  is  a  vague  term,  and  what  they  really  adore  is  the 
fiery  orb  himself.  They  also  call  him  the  'hope  of  eternity,' 
but  here  again  the  meaning  is  vague,  and  I  doubt  if  the  phrase 
conveys  any  very  clear  impression  to  their  minds.  Some  of 
them  do  indeed  believe  in  a  future  life  for  the  good — I  know 
that  Nyleptha  does  firmly — but  it  is  a  private  faith  arising  from 
the  promptings  of  the  spirit,  not  an  essential  of  their  creed.  So 
on  the  whole  I  cannot  say  that  I  consider  this  sun-worship  as 
a  reh'gion  indicative  of  a  civilised  people,  however  magnificent 
and  imposing  its  ritual,  or  however  moral  and  high-sounding 
the  maxims  of  its  priests,  many  of  whom,  I  am  sure,  have  their 
own  opinions  on  the  whole  subject ;  though  of  course  they 
have  nothing  but  praise  for  a  system  which  provides  them  with 
so  many  of  the  good  things  of  t'nis  world. 

There  are  now  only  two  more  matters  to  which  I  need  allude, 
namely,  the  language  and  the  system  of  caligraphy.  As  for  the 
former,  it  is  soft  sounding,  and  very  rich  and  flexible.  Sir 
Henry  says  that  it  sounds  something  like  modern  Greek,  but  of 


The  Flower  Temple.  145 

course  it  has  no  connection  with  it.  It  is  easy  to  acquire,  being 
simple  in  its  construction,  and  a  peculiar  quality  about  its 
euphony,  and  the  way  in  which  the  sound  of  the  words  adapts 
itself  to  the  meaning  to  be  expressed.  Ix)ng  before  we  master- 
ed the  language,  we  could  frequently  make  out  what  was  meant 
by  the  ring  of  the  sentence.  It  is  on  this  account  that  the 
language  lends  itself  so  well  to  poetical  declamation,  of  which 
these  remarkable  people  are  very  fond.  The  Zu-Vendi  alpha- 
bet seems,  Sir  Henry  says,  to  be  derived,  like  every  other  known 
system  of  letters,  from  a  Phoenician  source,  and  therefore  more 
remotely  still  from  the  ancient  Egyptian  hieratic  writing. 
Whether  or  no  this  is  a  fact  I  cannot  say,  not  being  learned  in 
such  matters.  All  I  know  about  it  is  that  their  alphabet  con- 
sists of  eighteen  hieroglyphics,  each  of  which  is,  to  my  mind, 
more  puzzling  and  cumbersome  than  the  last.*  But  as  the 
people  of  Zu-Vendis  are  not  given  to  the  writing  of  novels,  or  of 
anything  except  business  documents  and  records  of  the  briefest 
character,  it  answers  their  purpose  well  enough. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   FLOWER   TEMPLE. 


It  was  half-past  eight  by  my  watch  when  I  woke  on  the 
morning  followmg  our  arrival  at  Milosis,  having  slept  almost 
exactly  twelve  hours,  and  I  must  say  that  I  did  indeed  feel  bet- 
ter. Ah,  what  a  blessed  thing  is  sleep !  and  what  a  difference 
twelve  hours  of  it  or  so  makes  to  us  after  days  and  nights  of 
toil  and  danger.  It  is  hke  going  to  bed  one  man  and  getting 
up  another. 

I  sat  up  upon  my  silken  couch — never  had  I  slept  upon  such 
a  bed  before — and  the  first  thing  that  I  saw  was  Good's  eye- 
glass fixed  on  me  from  the  recesses  of  his  silken  couch.   There 

♦  There  are  twenty-two  letters  in  the  Phoenician  alphabet  {see  Appendix 
"Mas^exo's  Histoire  ancienne  des peoples  de  r Orient,  &c.).  Unfortunately  Mr. 
Quatermain  gives  us  no  specimen  of  the  Zu-Vendi  writing,  but  what  he  here 
states  seems  to  go  a  long  way  towards  substantiating  the  theory  in  the  iMtf 
on  p.  139,  10 


146  Allan  Qnatermaiiu 

was  nothing  else  of  him  to  be  seen  except  his  eyeglass,  but  I 
knew  from  the  look  of  it  that  he  was  awake,  and  waiting  till  I 
woke  up  to  begin. 

'  I  say,  Quatermain,'  he  commenced  sure  enough,  '  did  you 
observe  her  skin  ?  It  is  as  smooth  as  the  back  of  an  ivory 
hair-brush.' 

*  Now  look  here,  Good,'  I  remonstrated,  when  there  came  a 
knocking  at  the  door,    which,    on  being  opened,    admitted   a 
functionary,  who  signified  by  signs  that  he  was  there  to  lead  us 
to  the  bath.     We  gladly  consented,   and  were  conducted  to  a 
delightful   marble   chamber,  with  a   pool   of   running   cr)'stal 
water  in  the  centre  of  it,  into  which  we  gaily  plunged.     When 
we  had  bathed,  we  returned  to  our  apartment  and  dressed,  and 
then  went  into  the  central  room  where  we  had  supped  on  the 
previous  evening,  to  find  a  morning  meal  already  prepared  for 
us,  and  a  capital  meal  it  was,  though  I  should  be  puzzled  to  de- 
scribe the  dishes.    After  breakfast  we  lounged  round  and  admir- 
ed the  tapestries  and  carpets  and  some  pieces  of  statuary  that 
were  placed  about,  wondering  the  while  what  was  going  to  happen 
next.     Indeed,  by  this  time  our  minds  were  in  such  a  state  of 
complete  bewilderment  that  we  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  ready  for 
anything  that  might  arrive.     As  for  our  sense  of  astonishment, 
it  was  pretty  well  obliterated.     Whilst  we  were  still  thus  engag- 
ed our  friend  the  captain  of  the  guard  presented  himself,  and 
with  many  obeisances  signified  that   we   were   to   follow  him, 
which  we  did,  not  without  doubts  and  heart-searchings — for  we 
guessed  that  the  time  had  come  when  we  should  have  to  settle 
the  bill  for  those  confounded  hippopotami  with  our  cold-eyed 
friend  Agon,  the  High  Priest.     However,  there  was  no  help  for 
it,  and  personally  I  took  great  comfort  in  the  promise  of  the 
protection  of  the  sister  Queens,  knowing  that  if  ladies  have  a 
will  they  can  generally  find  a  way ;  so  off  we  started  as  though 
we  liked  it.     A  minute's  walk  through  a  passage  and  an  outer 
court  brought  us  to  the  great  double  gates  of  the  palace  that 
open  on  to  the  wide  highway   which  runs  up  hill  through  the 
heart  of  Milosis  to  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  a   mile   away,    and 
thence  down  the  slope  on  the  farther  side  of  the  temple  to  the 
outer  wall  of  the  city. 

These  gates  are  very  large  and  massive,  and  an  extraordin- 
arily beautiful  work  in  metal.  Between  them — for  one  set  is 
placed  at  the  entrance  to  an  interior,  and  one  at  that  of  the 
exterior  wall — is  a  fosse,  forty-five  feet  in  width.     This  fosse  is 


The  Fiozver  Temple,  147 

filled  with  water  and  spanned  by  a  drawbridge,  which  when 
Hfted  makes  the  palace  nearly  impregnable  to  anything  except 
siege  guns.  As  we  came,  one  half  of  the  wide  gates  were  flung 
open,  and  we  passed  over  the  drawbridge  and  presently  stood 
gazing  up  one  of  the  most  imposing,  if  not  the  most  imposing, 
roadways  in  the  world.  It  is  a  hundred  feet  from  curb  to  curb, 
and  on  either  side,  not  cramped  and  crowded  together,  as  is 
our  European  fashion,  but  each  standing  in  its  own  grounds, 
and  built  equidistant  from  and  in  similar  style  to  the  rest,  are  a 
series  of  splendid,  single-storied  mansions,  all  of  red  granite. 
These  are  the  to\vn  houses  of  the  nobles  of  the  Court,  and 
stretch  away  in  unbroken  lines  for  a  mile  or  more  till  the  eye 
is  arrested  by  the  glorious  vision  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  that 
crowns  the  hill  and  heads  the  roadway. 

As  we  stood  gazing  at  this  splendid  sight,  of  which  more 
anon,  there  suddenly  dashed  up  to  the  gateway  four  chariots, 
each  drawn  by  two  white  horses.  These  chariots  are  two- 
wheeled,  and  made  of  wood.  They  are  fitted  with  a  stout  pole, 
the  weight  of  which  is  supported  by  leathern  girths  that  form  a 
portion  of  the  harness.  The  wheels  are  made  with  four  spokes 
only,  are  tired  with  iron,  and  quite  innocent  of  springs.  In  the 
front  of  the  chariot,  and  immediately  over  the  pole,  is  a  small  seat 
for  the  driver,  railed  round  to  prevent  him  from  being  jolted  off. 
Inside  the  machine  itself  are  three  low  seats,  one  at  each  side, 
and  one  with  the  back  to  the  horses,  opposite  to  which  is  the 
door.  The  whole  vehicle  is  lightly  and  yet  strongly  made,  and, 
owing  to  the  grace  of  the  curves,  though  primitive,  not  half  so 
ugly  as  might  be  expected. 

But  if  the  chariots  left  something  to  be  desired,  the  horses 
did  not.    They  were  simply  splendid,  not  very  large  but  strongly 
built,  and  well  ribbed  up,  with  small  heads,  remarkably  large 
and  round  hoofs,  and  a  great  look  of  speed  and  blood.     I  have 
often  and  often  wondered  whence  this  breed,  which  presents 
many  distinct  characteristics,  came,  but,  like  that  of  it  sowners, 
its  history  is  obscure.     Like  the  people  the  horses  have  always 
been  there.     The  first  and  last  of  these  chariots  were  occupied 
by  guards,  but  the  centre  two  were  empty,  except  for  the  driver, 
and  to  these  we  were  conducted.     Alphonse  and  I  got  into  the 
first,  and  Sir  Henry,  Good,  and  Umslopogaas,  into  the  one  be- 
hind, and  then  suddenly  off  we  went,  and  we  did  go.     Among 
the  Zu-Vendi  it  is  not  usual  to  trot  horses  either  riding  or  dri?. 


148  Allan  Quatermain. 

ing,  especially  when  the  journey  to  be  made  is  a  short  one — 
they  go  at  full  gallop.  As  soon  as  we  were  seated  the  driver 
called  out,  the  horses  sprang  forward,  and  we  were  whirled 
away  at  a  speed  sufficient  to  take  one's  breath,  and  which,  till  1 
got  accustomed  to  it,  kept  me  in  momentar}'  fear  of  an  upset. 
As  for  the  wretched  Alphonse,  he  clung  with  a  despairing  face 
to  the  side  of  what  he  called  this  '  devil  of  a  fiacre,'  thinking 
that  every  moment  was  his  last.  Presently  it  occurred  to  him 
to  ask  where  we  were  going,  and  I  told  him  that,  as  far  as  I 
could  ascertain,  we  were  going  to  be  sacrificed  by  burning. 
You  should  have  seen  his  face  as  he  grasped  the  side  of  the 
vehicle  and  cried  out  in  his  terror. 

But  the  wild-looking  charioteer  only  leant  forward  over  his 
flying  steeds  and  shouted ;  and  the  air,  as  it  went  singing  past, 
bore  away  the  sound  of  Alphonse's  lamentations. 

And  now  before  us,  in  all  its  marvellous  splendour  and  daz- 
zUng  lovehness,  shone  out  the  Temple  of  the  Sun — the  peculiar 
pride  of  the  Zu-Vendi,  to  whom  it   was  what  Solomon's,  or 
rather  Herod's,  Temple  was  to  the  Jews.     The  wealth,  and  skill, 
and  labour  of  generations  had  been  given  to  the  building  of 
this  wonderful  place,  which  had  been  only  finally  completed 
within  the  last  fifty  years.     Nothing  was  spared  that  the  country 
could  produce,  and  the  result  was  indeed  worthy  of  the  eftort, 
not  so  much  on  account  of  its  size — for  there  are  larger  fanes 
in  the  world — as  because  of  its  perfect  proportions,  the  richness 
and  beauty  of  its  materials,  and  the  wonderful  workmanship. 
The  building  (that  stands  by  itself  on  a  space  of  some  eight 
acres  of  garden  ground  on  the  hill  top,  around  which  are  the 
dwelling-places  of  the  priests)  is  built  in  the  shape  of  a  sun- 
flower, with  a  dome-covered  central  hall,  from    which  radiate 
twelve  petal-shaped  courts,  each  dedicated  to  one  of  the  twelve 
months,   and  serving  as  the  repositories  of  statues  reared  in 
memory  of  the  illustrious  dead.     The  width  of  the  circle  be- 
neath the  dome  is  three  hundred  feet,  the  height  of  the  dome 
is  four  hundred  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  rays  is  one  hundred 
and   fifty  feet,  and  the  height  of    their  roofs  three   hundred 
feet,  so  that  they  run  into  the  central  dome  exactly  as  the  petals 
of  the  sunflower  run  into  the  great  raised  heart.     Thus  the 
exact  measurement  from  the  centre  of  the  central  altar  to  the 
extreme  point  of  any  one  of  the  rounded  rays  would  be  three 
hundred  feet  (the  width  of  the  circle  itself),  or  a  total  of  six  hun- 


The  Flower  Temple,  149 

dred  feet  from  the  rounded  extremity  of  one  ray  or  petal  to  the 
extremity  of  the  opposite  one.^ 

The  building  itself  is  of  pure  and  polished  white  marble, 
which  shows  out  in  marvellous  contrast  to  the  red  granite  of 
the  frowning  city,  on  whose  brow  it  glistens  indeed  like  an  im- 
perial diadem  upon  the  forehead  of  a  dusky  queen.  The  outer 
surface  of  the  dome  and  of  the  twelve  petal  courts  is  covered 
entirely  with  thin  sheets  of  beaten  gold ;  and  from  the  extreme 
point  of  the  roof  of  each  of  these  petals  a  glorious  golden  form 
with  a  trumpet  in  its  hand  and  wide-spread  wings  is  figured 
in  the  very  act  of  soaring  into  space.  I  really  must  leave  who- 
ever reads  this  to  imagine  the  surpassing  glory  of  these  golden 
roofs  flashing  when  the  sun  strikes — flashing  like  a  thousand 
fires  aflame  on  a  mountain  of  polished  marble  so  fiercely  that 
the  reflection  can  be  clearly  seen  from  the  great  peaks  of  the 
range  a  hundred  miles  away. 

It  is  a  marvellous  sight — this  golden  flower  upborne  upon 
the  cool  white  marble  walls,  and  I  doubt  if  the  world  can  show 
such  another.  What  makes  the  whole  effect  even  more  gor- 
geous is  that  a  belt  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  around  the 
marble  wall  of  the  temple  is  planted  with  an  indigenous  species 
of  sunflower,  which  were  at  the  time  when  we  first  saw  them 
a  sheet  of  golden  bloom. 

The  main  entrance  to  this  wonderful  place  is  between  the 
two  northernmost  of  the  rays  or  petal  courts,  and  is  protected 
first  by  the  usual  bronze  gates,  and  then  by  doors  made  of  solid 
marble,  beautifully  carved  with  allegorical  subjects  and  overlaid 
with  gold.  When  these  are  passed  there  is  only  the  thickness 
of  the  wall,  which  is,  however,  twenty-five  feet  (for  the  Zu-Ven- 
di  build  for  all  time),  and  another  slight  door  also  of  white 
marble,  introduced  in  order  to  avoid  causing  a  visible  gap  in 
the  inner  skin  of  the  wall,  and  you  stand  in  the  circular  hall 
under  the  great  dome.  Advancing  to  the  central  altar  you  look 
upon  as  beautiful  a  sight  as  the  imagination  of  man  can  con- 
ceive. You  are  in  the  middle  of  the  holy  place,  and  above  you 
the  great  white  marble  dome  (for  the  inner  skin,  like  the  outer, 
is  of  polished  marble  throughout)  arches  away  in  graceful  curves, 
something  Hke  that  of  St.  Paul's  in  London,  only  at  a  slighter 
an^le,  and  from  the  funnel-like  opening  at  the  exact  apex  a 
bright  beam  of  light  pour  down  upon  the  golden  altar.     At  the 


•  These  are  internal  measurements. — A.Q. 


ISO  Allan  Quatermairu 

east  and  the  west  are  other  altars,  and  other  beams  of  Hght  stab 
the  sacred  twilight  to  the  heart  In  every  direction,  '  white, 
mystic,  wonderful,'  open  out  the  ray-like  courts,  each  pierced 
through  by  a  single  arrow  of  light  that  serves  to  illumine  its 
lofty  silence  and  dimly  to  reveal  the  monuments  of  the 
mighty  dead.* 

Overcome  at  so  awe-inspiring  a  sight,  the  vast  loveliness  of 
which  thrills  the  nerves  like  a  glance  from  beauty's  eyes,  you 
turn  to  the  central  golden  altar,  in  the  midst  of  which,  though 
you  cannot  see  it  now,  there  burns  a  pale  but  steady  flame 
crowned  with  curls  of  faint  blue  smoke.  It  is  of  marble  over- 
laid with  pure  gold,  in  shape  round  hke  the  sun,  four  feet  in 
height,  and  thirty-six  in  circumference.  Here  also,  hinged  to 
the  foundations  of  the  altar,  are  twelve  petals  of  beaten  gold. 
All  night  and,  except  at  one  hour,  all  day  also,  these  petals  are 
closed  over  the  altar  itself  exactly  as  the  petals  of  a  water-lily 
close  over  the  yellow  crown  in  stormy  weather,  but  when  the 
sun  at  mid-day  pierces  through  the  funnel  in  the  dome  and . 
lights  upon  the  golden  flower,  the  petals  open  and  reveal 
the  hidden  mystery,  only  to  close  again  when  the  ray  has 
passed. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Standing  in  semicircles  at  equal  distances 
from  each  other  on  the  north  and  south  of  the  sacred  place  are 
ten  golden  angels,  or  female  winged  forms  exquisitely  shaped 
and  draped.  These  figures,  which  are  slightly  larger  than 
life-size,  stand  with  bent  heads  in  an  attitude  of  adoration, 
their  faces  shadowed  by  their  wings,  and  are  most  imposing 
and  of  exceeding  beauty. 

There  is  but  one  thing  further  which  calls  for  description  in 
this  altar,  which  is,  that  to  the  east  the  flooring  in  front  of  it  is 
not  of  pure  white  marble,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  building, 
but  of  solid  brass,  and  this  is  also  the  case  in  front  of  the  other 
two  altars. 

The  eastern  and  western  altars,  which  are  semicircular  in 
shape,  and  placed  against  the  wall  of  the  building,  are  much 
less  imposing,  and  are  not  enfolded  in  golden  petals.  They 
are,  however,  also  of  gold,  the  sacred  fire  burns  on  each,  and  a 
golden  winged  figure  stands  on  either  side  of  them.  Two  great 
golden  rays  run  up  the  wall  behind  them,  but  where  the  third 

•  Light  wa5  also  admitted  by  sliding  shutters  under  the  eaves  of  the  dome 
and  m  the  roof. 


The  Flower  Temple.  151 

or  middle  one  should  be  is  an  opening  in  the  wall,  wide  on  the 
outside,  but  narrow  within,  like  a  loophole  turned  inwards. 
Through  the  eastern  loophole  stream  the  first  beams  of  the 
rising  sun,  and  strike  right  across  the  circle,  toucning  the  folded 
petals  of  the  great  gold  flower  as  they  pass  till  they  impinge 
upon  the  western  altar.  In  the  same  way  at  night  the  last  rays 
of  the  sinking  sun  rest  for  a  while  on  the  eastern  altar  before 
they  die  away  into  darkness.  It  is  the  promise  of  the  dawn  to 
the  evening  and  the  evening  to  the  dawn. 

With  the  exception  of  these  three  altars  and  the  winged 
figures  about  them,  the  whole  space  beneath  the  vast  white 
dome  is  utterly  empty  and  devoid  of  ornamentation— a  cir- 
cumstance that  to  my  fancy  adds  greatly  to  its  grandeur. 

Such  is  a  brief  description  of  this  wonderful  and  lovely  build- 
ing, to  the  glories  of  which,  to  my  mind  so  much  enhanced  by 
their  complete  simphcity,  I  only  wish  I  had  the  power  to  do 
j  ustice.  But  I  cannot,  so  it  is  useless  talking  more  about  it. 
But  when  I  compare  this  great  work  of  genius  to  some  of  the 
tawdry  buildings  and  tinsel  ornamentations  produced  in  these 
latter  days  by  European  ecclesiastical  architects,  I  feel  that 
ev  en  highly  civilised  art  might  learn  something  from  the  Zu- 
Vendi  masterpieces.  I  can  only  say  that  the  exclamation  which 
sprang  to  my  lips  as  soon  as  my  eyes  first  became  accustomed 
to  the  dim  light  of  that  glorious  building,  and  its  white  and 
curving  beauties,  perfect  and  thrilling  as  those  of  a  naked  god- 
dess, grew  upon  me  one  by  one,  was,  '  Well  !  a  dog  would  feel 
religious  here.'  It  is  vulgarly  put,  but  perhaps  it  conveys  my 
meaning  more  clearly  than  any  polished  utterance. 

At  the  temple  gates  our  party  was  received  by  a  guard  of 
soldiers,  who  appeared  to  be  under  the  orders  of  a  priest ;  and 
by  them  we  were  conducted  into  one  of  the  ray  or  '  petal ' 
courts,  as  the  priests  call  them,  and  there  left  for  at  least  half- 
an-hour.  Here  we  conferred  together,  and  realising  that  we 
stood  in  great  danger  of  our  lives,  determined  if  any  attempt 
should  be  made  upon  us,  to  sell  them  as  dearly  as  we  could — 
Umslopogaas  announcing  his  fixed  intention  of  committing 
sacrilege  on  the  person  of  Agon,  the  High  Priest,  by  splitting 
his  venerable  head  with  Inkosi-kaas.  From  where  we  stood  we 
could  perceive  that  an  immense  multitude  were  pouring  into  the 
temple,  evidently  in  expectation  of  some  unusual  event,  and  I 
could  not  help  fearing  that  we  had  to  do  with  it.  And  here  I 
may  explain  that  every  day,  when  the  sunlight  falls  upon  the 


152  Allan  QuatennaiTU 

central  altar,  and  the  trumpets  sound,  a  burnt  sacrifice  is  offer- 
ed to  the  Sun,  consisting  generally  of  the  carcase  of  a  sheep  or 
an  ox,  or  sometimes  of  fruit  or  corn.  This  event  comes  ofif 
about  midday  ;  of  course,  not  always  exactly  at  that  hour,  but 
as  Zu-Vendis  is  situated  not  far  from  the  Line,  although — being 
so  high  above  the  sea  it  is  very  temperate — midday  and  the 
falling  of  the  sunlight  on  the  altar  were  generally  simultaneous. 
To-day  the  sacrifice  was  to  take  place  at  about  eight  minutes 
past  twelve. 

Just  at  twelve  o'clock  a  priest  appeared,  and  made  a  sign, 
and  the  officer  of  the  guard  signified  to  us  that  we  were  expect- 
ed to  advance,  which  we  did  with  the  best  grace  that  we  could 
muster,  all  except  Alphonse,  whose  irrepressible  teeth  instantly 
began  to  chatter.  In  a  few  seconds  we  were  out  of  the  court 
and  looking  at  a  vast  sea  of  human  faces  stretching  away  to  the 
farthest  limits  of  the  great  circle,  all  straining  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  mysterious  strangers  who  had  committed  sacrilege ;  the 
first  strangers,  mind  you,  who,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  multi- 
tude, had  ever  set  foot  in  Zu-Vendis  since  such  time  that  the 
memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrar)\ 

As  we  appeared  there  was  a  murmur  throughout  the  vast 
crowd  that  went  echoing  away  up  the  great  dome,  and  we  saw 
a  visible  blush  of  excitement  grow  on  the  thousands  of  faces, 
like  a  pink  light  on  a  stretch  of  pale  cloud,  and  a  very  curious 
effect  it  was.  On  we  passed  down  a  lane  cut  through  the  heart 
of  the  human  mass,  till  presently  we  stood  upon  the  brazen 
patch  of  flooring  to  the  east  of  the  central  altar,  and  immediately 
facing  it  For  some  thirty  feet  around  the  golden-winged 
figures  the  space  was  roped  off,  and  the  multitude  stood  outside 
the  ropes.  Within  were  a  circle  of  white-robed  gold-cinctured 
priests  holding  long  golden  trumpets  in  their  hands,  and  im- 
mediately in  front  of  us  was  our  friend  Agon,  the  High  Priest, 
with  his  curious  cap  upon  his  head.  His  was  the  only  covered 
head  in  that  vast  assemblage.  We  took  our  stand  upon  the 
brazen  space,  little  knowing  what  was  prepared  for  us  beneath, 
but  I  noticed  a  curious  hissing  sound  proceeding  apparently 
from  the  floor,  for  which  I  could  not  account.  Then  came  a 
pause,  and  I  looked  round  to  see  if  there  was  any  sign  of  the 
two  Queens,  Nyleptha  and  Sorais,  but  they  were  not  there.  To 
the  right  of  us,  however,  was  a  bare  space  that  1  guessed  was 
rcierved  for  them. 


The  Flower  Teynple,  153 

We  waited,  and  presently  a  far-off  trumpet  blew,  apparently 
high  up  in  the  dome.  Then  came  another  murmur  from  the 
multitude,  and  up  a  long  lane,  leading  to  the  open  space  to  our 
right,  we  saw  the  two  Queens  walking  side  by  side.  Behind 
them  were  some  nobles  of  the  Court,  among  whom  I  recognised 
the  great  lord  Xasta,  and  behind  them  again  a  body  of  about 
fifty  guards.  These  last  I  was  very  glad  to  see.  Presently  they 
had  all  arrived  and  taken  their  stand,  the  two  Queens  in  the 
front,  the  nobles  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  guards  in  a 
double  semicircle  behind  them. 

Then  came  another  silence,  and  Xyleptha  looked  up  and 
caught  my  eye ;  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  meaning  in  her 
glance,  and  I  watched  it  narrowly.  From  my  eye  it  travelled 
down  to  the  brazen  flooring,  on  the  outer  edge  of  which  we 
stood.  Then  followed  a  slight  and  almost  imperceptible  side- 
long movement  of  the  head.  I  did  not  understand  it,  and 
it  was  repeated.  Then  I  guessed  that  she  meant  us  to  move 
back  off  the  brazen  floor.  One  more  glance  and  I  was  sure  of 
it— there  was  danger  in  standing  on  the  floor.  Sir  Henry  was 
placed  on  one  side  of  me,  Umslopogaas  on  the  other.  Keeping 
my  eyes  fixed  straight  before  me,  I  whispered  to  them,  first  in 
Zulu  and  then  in  English,  to  draw  slowly  back  inch  by  inch 
till  half  their  feet  rested  on  the  marble  flooring  where  the  brass 
ceased.  Sir  Henrj^  whispered  on  to  Good  and  Alphonse,  and 
slowly,  very  ver}^  slowly,  we  shifted  backwards  ;  so  slowly  indeed 
that  nobody,  except  Xyleptha  and  Sorais,  who  saw  everything, 
seemed  to  notice  the  movement.  Then  I  glanced  again  at 
Xyleptha,  and  saw  that  by  an  almost  imperceptible  nod,  she 
indicated  approval.  All  the  while  Agon's  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
the  altar  before  him  apparently  in  an  ecstacy  of  contemplation, 
and  mine  were  fixed  upon  the  small  of  his  back  in  another  sort 
of  ecstacy.  Then  suddenly  he  flung  up  his  long  arms,  and  in 
a  solemn  and  resounding  voice  commenced  a  chant,  of  which 
for  convenience'  sake  I  append  a  rough,  a  V€?y  rough,  transla- 
tion here,  though,  of  course,  I  did  not  then  comprehend  its 
meaning.  It  was  an  invocation  to  the  Sun,  and  ran  somewhat 
as  follows : — 

There  is  silence  upon  the  face  of  the  Earth  and  the  waters  therec^I 
Yea,  the  sHence  doth  brood  on  ihe  waters  like  a  nesting  bird  ; 
The  silen.e  sleepeih  also  upon  the  bosom  of  the  profound  darla^»si. 
Only  high  up  in  the  great  spaces  star  doth  speak  unto  star. 


154  Allan  Quaiermain, 

The  Earth  is  feint  with  longing  and  wet  with  the  tears  of  her  desire  ; 

The  siar-girdled  night  doth  embrace  her,  but  she  is  not  comforted- 
She  hes  enshrouded  in  mists  hlce  a  corpse  in  the  grave-clothes, 
And  stretches  her  pale  hands  to  the  East. 

Lo !  away  in  the  farthest  East  there  is  the  shadow  of  a  light ; 

The  Earth  seeth  and  hfts  herself.     She  looks  out  from  beneath  the  hollo>» 

of  her  hand. 
Then  thy  great  angels  fly  forth  from  thy  Holy  Place,  oh  Sun, 
Th.^y  shoot  their  fiery  swords  into  the  darkness  and  shrivel  it  up. 
They  chmb  the  heavens  and  cast  down  the  pale  stars  from  their  thrones  ; 
Yea,  they  hurl  the  changeful  sLirs  back  into  the  womb  of  the  night ; 
They  cause  the  moon  to  become  wan  as  the  face  of  a  dying  man, 
And  behold  1    Thy  glory  comes,  oh  San  1 

Oh,  Thou  beautiful  one,  Thou  drapest  thyself  in  fire. 

The  wide  heavens  are  thy  pathway  :  thou  rollest  o'er  them  as  a  chariot. 

The  PLarth  is  thy  bride.     Thou  dost  embrace  her  and  she  brings  forth 

children  ; 
Yea,  Thou  favourest  her,  and  she  yields  her  increase. 
Thou  art  the  AU  Father  and  the  giver  of  life,  oh  Sun. 
The  young  children  stretch  out  their  hands  and  grow  in  thy  brightness  ; 
The  old  men  creep  forth  and  seeing  remember  their  strength. 
Only  the  dead  forget  Thee,  oh  Sun  1 

When  Thou  art  wroth  then  Thou  dost  hide  thy  face  ; 
Thou  drawest  around  Thee  a  thick  curtain  of  shadows. 
Then  the  Earth  grows  cold  and  the  Heavens  are  dismayed  ;     ■ 
They  tremble,  and  the  sound  thereof  is  the  sound  of  thunder  ; 
They  weep,  and  their  tears  are  outpoured  in  the  rain  ; 
They  sigh,  and  the  wild  winds  are  the  voice  of  their  sighing. 
The  flowers  die,  the  fruitful  fields  languish  and  turn  pale ; 
The  old  men  and  the  little  children  go  unto  their  appointed  place 
When  Thou  withdrawest  thy  hght,  oh  Sun  1 

Say,  what  art  thou,  oh  Thou  matchless  Splendour— 
Who  set  Thee  on  high,  oh  Thou  flaming  Terror? 
WTien  didst  Thou  begin,  and  when  is  the  day  of  Thy  ending? 
Thou  art  the  raiment  of  the  living  Spirit* 
None  did  place  Thee  on  high,  for  Thou  wast  the  Beginning. 
Thou  shalt  not  be  ended  wlien  thy  children  are  forgotten  ; 
Nay,  Thou  shalt  never  end,  for  thy  hours  are  eternal. 

Tliou  sittest  on  high  within  thy  golden  house  and  measures!  out  the  cen- 
turies. 
Oh  Father  of  Life  1  oh  dark-dispelling  Sun  I 

He  ceased  his  solemn  chant,  which,  though  it  seems  a  poor 
enough  thing  after  going  through  my  mill,  is  really  beautiful  and 
impressive  in  the  original ;  and  then,  after  a  moment's  pause, 


•This  line  is  interesting  as  being  one  of  the  few  allusions  to  be  found  in  the 
Zu-Vendi  ritu;U  to  a  va.tjue  divine  es'^ence  independent  of  the  material  splendour 
of  the  orb  they  worship.  '  Ptia,'  the  word  used  here,  has  a  very  indeterminate 
mraniny,  and  signifies  essence,  vital  principle,  spirit,  or  even  God. 


Tlu  Flower  Temple,  155 

he  glanced  up  towards  the  funnel-sloped  opening  in  the  dome 
and  added — 

Oh  Sun,  dtscend  upon  thine  Altar  I 

As  he  spoke  a  wonderful  and  a  beautiful  thing  happened. 
Down  from  on  high  flashed  a  splendid  living  ray  of  light,  cleav- 
ing the  twilight  like  a  sword  of  fire.  Full  upon  the  closed  petals 
it  fell  and  ran  shimmering  down  their  golden  sides,  and  then  the 
glorious  flower  opened  as  though  beneath  the  bright  influence. 
Slowly  it  opened,  and  as  the  great  petals  fell  wide  and  revealed 
the  golden  altar  on  which  the  fire  ever  burns,  the  priests  blew 
a  blast  upon  the  trumpets,  and  from  all  the  people  there  rose  a 
shout  of  praise  that  beat  against  the  domed  roof  and  came 
echoing  down  the  marble  walls.  And  now  the  flower  altar  was 
open,  and  the  sunlight  fell  upon  the  tongue  of  sacred  flame 
and  beat  it  down,  so  that  it  wavered,  sank,  and  vanished  into 
the  hollow  recesses  whence  it  rose.  As  it  vanished,  the  mellow 
notes  of  the  trumpets  rolled  out  once  more.  Again  the  old 
priest  flung  up  his  hands  and  called  aloud — 

We  sacrifice  to  tJue,  oh  Sun  i 

Once  more  I  caught  Nyleptha's  eye ;  it  was  fixed  upon  the 
brazen  flooring. 

'  Look  out,'  I  said,  aloud ;  and  as  I  said  it,  I  saw  Agon 
bend  forward  and  touch  something  on  the  altar.  As  he  did  so, 
the  great  white  sea  of  faces  around  us  turned  red  and  then  white 
again,  and  a  deep  breath  went  up  like  a  universal  sigh.  Ny- 
leptha  leant  forward  and  with  an  involuntary  movement  covered 
her  eyes  with  her  hand.  Sorais  turned  and  whispered  to  the 
officer  of  the  royal  bodyguard,  and  then  with  a  rending  sound 
the  whole  of  the  brazen  flooring  shd  from  before  our  feet,  and 
there  in  its  place  was  suddenly  revealed  a  smooth  marble 
shaft  terminating  in  a  most  awful  raging  furnace  beneath  the 
altar,  big  enough  and  hot  enough  to  heat  the  iron  stern-post  of 
a  man  of  war. 

With  a  cry  of  terror  we  sprang  backwards,  all  except  the 
wretched  Alphonse,  who  was  paralysed  with  fear,  and  would 
have  fallen  into  the  fiery  furnace  which  had  been  prepared  for 
us,  had  not  Sir  Henry  caught  him  in  his  strong  hand  as  he  was 
vanishing  and  dragged  him  back. 

Instantly  there  arose  the  most  feariul  hubbub,  and  we  four 
got  back  to  back,  Alphonse  dodging  frantically  round  our  little 


156  Allan  Quatermatn, 

circle  in  attempt  to  take  shelter  under  our  legs.  We  all  had 
our  revolvers  on — for  though  we  had  been  politely  disarmed  of 
our  guns  on  leaving  the  palace,  of  course  these  people  did  not 
know  what  a  revolver  was.  Umslopogaas,  too,  had  his  axe,  of 
which  no  effort  had  been  made  to  deprive  him,  and  now  he 
whirled  it  round  his  head  and  sent  his  piercing  Zulu  war-shout 
echoing  up  the  marble  walls  in  fine  defiant  fashion.  Next 
second,  the  priests,  baffled  of  their  prey,  had  drawn  swords 
from  beneath  their  white  robes  and  were  leaping  on  us  like 
hounds  upon  a  stag  at  bay.  I  saw  that,  dangerous  as  action 
might  be,  we  must  act  or  be  lost,  so  as  the  first  man  came 
bounding  along — and  a  great  tall  fellow  he  was — I  sent  a  heavy 
revolver  ball  through  him,  and  down  he  fell  at  the  mouth  of 
•he  shaft,  and  slid,  shrieking  frantically,  into  the  fiery  gulf  that 
had  been  prepared  for  us. 

Whether  it  was  his  cries,  or  the,  to  them,  awful  sound  and 
effect  of  the  pistol  shot,  or  what,  I  know  not,  but  the  other 
priests  halted,  paralysed  and  dismayed,  and  before  they  could 
come  on  again  Sorais  had  called  out  something,  and  we,  to- 
gether with  the  two  Queens  and  most  of  the  courtiers,  were 
being  surrounded  with  a  wall  of  armed  men.  In  a  moment 
ie  was  done,  and  still  the  priests  hesitated,  and  the  people  hung 
in  the  balance  like  a  herd  of  startled  buck  as  it  were,  making 
no  sign  one  way  or  the  other. 

The  last  yell  of  the  burning  priest  had  died  away,  the  fire 
had  finished  him,  and  a  great  silence  fell  upon  the  place. 

Then  the  High  Priest  Agon  turned,  and  his  face  was  as 
the  face  of  a  devil.  '  Let  the  sacrifice  be  sacrificed,'  he  cried 
to  the  Queens.  '  Has  not  sacrilege  enough  been  done  by 
these  strangers,  and  would  ye,  as  Queens,  throw  the  cloak  of 
your  majesty  over  evildoers  ?  Are  not  the  creatures  sacred 
to  the  Sun  dead  ?  and  is  not  a  priest  of  the  Sun  also  dead, 
but  now  slain  by  the  magic  of  these  strangers,  who  come  as 
the  winds  out  of  heaven,  whence  we  know  not,  and  who  are 
what  we  know  not  ?  Beware,  oh  Queens,  how  ye  tamper  with 
the  great  majesty  of  the  God,  even  before  His  high  altar. 
There  is  a  Power  that  is  more  than  your  power;  there  is  a 
Justice  that  is  higher  than  your  justice.  Beware  how  ye  lift 
an  impious  hand  against  it  Let  the  sacrifice  be  sacrificed, 
oh  Queens.' 

Then  Sorais  made  answer  in  her  deep  quiet  tones,  that  al- 
ways seemed  to  me  to  have  a  suspicion  of  mockery  about  them, 


The  Flower  Temple.  157 

however  serious  the  theme  :  '  ^\\  Aguii,  thou  hast  spoken  ■\c. 
cording  to  thy  desire,  and  thou  hast  spoken  truth.      But  ii  is 
thou  who  wouldst  Hft  an  impious  hand  against  the  justice  of  thy 
God.     Bethink  thee  the  midday  sacrifice  is  accomplished ;  the 
Sun  hath  claimed  his  priest  as  a  sacrifice.' 

This  was  a  novel  idea,  and  the  people  applauded  it. 
'  Bethink  thee  what  are  these  men  ?  They  are  strangers 
found  floating  on  the  bosom  of  a  lake.  Who  brought  them 
there?  How  came  they  there?  How  know  ye  that  tney  also 
are  not  servants  of  the  Sun  ?  Is  this  the  hospitality  that  ye 
would  have  our  nation  show  to  those  whom  chance  brings  to 
them,  to  throw  them  to  the  flames  ?  Shame  on  ye  !  shame  on 
ye  !  What  is  hospitality  ?  To  receive  the  stranger  and  show 
him  favour.  To  bind  up  his  wounds,  and  find  a  pillow  for 
his  head,  food  for  him  to  eat.  But  thy  pillow  is  the  fiery  fur- 
nace, and  thy  food  the  hot  savour  of  the  flame.  Shame  on  thee, 
I  say!' 

She  paused  a  little  to  watch  the  effect  of  her  speech  upon  the 
multitude,  and  seeing  that  it  was  favourable,  changed  her  tone 
from  one  of  remonstrance  to  one  of  command. 

'  Ho  1  place  there,'  she  cried,  'place,  I  say  ;  make  way  for 
the  Queens,  and  those  whom  the  Queens  cover  with  their 
"kaf"  (mantle).' 

'  And  if  I  refuse,  oh  Queen  ?  '  said  Agon  between  his  teeth. 
*  Then  will  I  cut  a  path  with  my  guards,'  was  the  proud  an- 
swer ;  '  ay,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  sanctuary,  and  through 
the  bodies  of  thy  priests.' 

Agon  turned  livid  with  baffled  fury.  He  glanced  at  the  peo- 
ple as  though  meditating  an  appeal  to  them,  but  saw  clearly 
that  their  sympathies  were  all  the  other  way.  The  Zu-Vendi 
are  a  very  curious  and  sociable  people,  and  great  as  was  their 
sense  of  the  enormity  that  we  had  committed  in  shooting  the 
sacred  hippopotami,  they  did  not  like  the  idea  of  the  only  real 
live  strangers  they  had  seen  or  heard  of  being  consigned  to  a 
fiery  furnace,  thereby  putting  an  end  forever  to  their  chance  of 
extracting  knowledge  and  information  from,  and  gossiping  about 
us.  Agon  saw  this  and  hesitated,  and  then  for  the  first  time 
Nyleptha  spoke  in  her  soft  sweet  voice. 

'  Bethink  thee,  Agon,'  she  said,  '  as  my  sister  Queen  hath 
said,  these  men  may  also  be  servants  of  the  Sun.  For  them- 
selves they  cannot  speak,  for  their  tongues  are  tied.  Let  the 
matter   be  adjourned  till   such   time  as  they  have  learnt  our 


iSS*  Allan  Quatermain, 

language.  Who  can  be  condemned  without  a  hearing  ?  When 
these  men  can  plead  for  themselves,  then  it  will  be  time  to  put 
them  to  the  proof.' 

Here  was  a  clever  loophole  of  escape,  and  the  vindictive  old 
priest  took  it,  little  as  he  liked  it. 

'  So  be  it,  oh  Queens,'  he  said.  '  Let  the  men  go  in  peace, 
and  when  they  have  learnt  our  tongue  then  let  them  speak. 
And  I,  even  I,  will  make  humble  supplication  at  the  altar  lest 
pestilence  fall  on  the  land  by  cause  of  the  sacrilege.' 

These  words  were  received  with  a  murmur  of  applause,  and 
in  another  minute  we  were  marching  out  of  the  temple  sur- 
rounded by  the  royal  guards. 

But  it  was  not  till  long  afterwards  that  we  learnt  the  exact 
substance  of  what  had  passed,  and  how  hardly  our  lives  had 
been  wTung  out  of  the  cruel  grip  of  the  Zu-Vendi  priesthood, 
in  the  face  of  which  even  the  Queens  were  practically  power- 
less. Had  it  not  been  for  their  strenuous  efforts  to  protect  us 
we  should  have  been  slain  even  before  we  set  foot  in  the  Temple 
of  the  Sun.  The  attempt  to  drop  us  bodily  into  the  fiery  pit  as 
an  offering  was  a  last  artifice  to  attain  this  end  when  several 
others  quite  unsuspected  by  us  had  already  failed. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SORAIS'   SONG. 


After  our  escape  from  Agon  and  his  pious  crew  we  returned 
to  our  quarters  in  the  palace,  and  had  a  very  good  time.  The 
two  Queens,  the  nobles  and  the  people  vied  with  each  other  in 
doing  us  honour  and  showering  gifts  upon  us.  As  for  that 
painful  little  incident  of  the  hippopotami  it  sank  into  oblivion, 
where  we  were  quite  content  to  leave  it.  Every  day  deputa- 
tions and  individuals  waited  on  us  to  examine  our  guns  and 
clothing,  our  chain  shirts,  and  our  instruments,  especially  our 
watches,  with  which  they  were  much  delighted.  In  short,  we 
became  quite  the  rage,  so  much  so  that  some  of  the  fashionable 
young  swells  among  the  Zu-Vendi  began  to  copy  the  cut  oi 
some  of  our  clothes,  notablv  Sir  Henry's  shooting  jacket    One 


Sorais'  Song:  159 

day  a  deputation  waited  on  us,  and,  as  usual,  Good  donned 
his  full-dress  uniform  lor  the  occasion.     This  deputation  seemed 
somehow  to  be  of  a  different  class  to  those  who  generally  came 
to  visit  us.     They  were  little  insignificant-looking  men  of  an 
excessively  polite,  not  to  say  servile  demeanour ;  and  their  at- 
tention appeared  to  be  chiefly  taken  up  with  observing  the 
details  of  Good's  full-dress  uniform,  of  which  they  took  copious 
notes  and  measurements.     Good   was   much   flattered  at  the 
time,  not  suspecting  that  he  had  to  deal  with  the  six  leading  tailors 
of  Milosis.     A  fortnight  afterwards,  however,  when  on  attend- 
ing court  as  usual  he  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  some  seven  or 
eight  Zu-Vendi  '  mashers '  arrayed  in  all  the  glory  of  a  very  fair 
imitation  of  his  full-dress  uniform,  he  changed  his  mind.     I 
shall  never  forget  his  face  of  astonishment  and  disgust.     It  was 
after  this,  chiefly  in  order  to  avoid  remark,  and  also  because 
our  clothes  were  wearing  out  and  had  to  be  saved  up,  that  we 
resolved  to  adopt  the  native  dress  ;  and  a  very  comfortable  one 
we  found  it,  though  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  looked  suflficiently 
ridiculous  in  it,  and   as   for   Alphonse  !      Only  Umslopogaas 
would  have  none  of  these  things  ;  when  his  moocha  was  worn 
out  the  fierce  old  Zulu  made  him  a  new  one,   and  went  about 
unconcerned  as  grim  and  naked  as  his  own  battle-axe. 

Meanwhile  we  pursued  our  study  of  the  language  steadily 
and  made  very  good  progress.  On  the  morning  following  our 
adventure  in  the  temple  three  grave  and  reverend  signiors  pre- 
sented themselves  armed  with  manuscript  books,  ink-horns,  and 
feather  pens,  and  indicated  that  they  had  been  sent  to  teach  us. 
So,  with  the  exception  of  Umslopogaas,  we  all  buckled  to  with 
a  will,  doing  four  hours  a  day.  As  for  Umslopogaas,  he  would 
have  none  of  that  either.  He  did  not  wish  to  learn  that  '  wo- 
man's talk,'  not  he;  and  when  one  of  the  teachers  advanced  on 
him  with  a  book  and  an  ink-horn  and  waved  them  before  him  in  a 
mild  persuasive  waj',  much  as  a  churchwarden  invitingly  shakes 
the  offertory  bag  under  the  nose  of  a  rich  but  niggardly  parish- 
ioner, he  sprang  up  with  a  fierce  oath  and  flashed  Inkosi-kaas 
before  the  eyes  of  our  learned  friend,  and  there  was  an  end  of 
the  attempt  to  teach  hi?n  Zu-Vendi. 

Thus  we  spent  our  mornings  in  useful  occupation  which  grew 
more  and  more  interesting  as  we  proceeded,  and  the  afternoons 
were  given  up  to  recreation.  Sometimes  we  made  trips,  nota- 
bly one  to  the  gold  mines  and  another  to  the  marble  quarries, 
both  of  which  I  wish  I  had  space  and  time  to  describe,  and  some- 


i6o  Allan  Quatermain, 

times  we  went  out  hunting  buck  with  dogs  trained  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  a  very  exciting  sport  it  is,  as  the  country  is  full  of 
agricultural  enclosures  and  our  horses  were  magnificent.  This 
IS  not  to  be  wondered  at  seeing  that  the  royal  stables  were  at 
our  command,  in  addition  to  which  we  had  four  splendid  saddle 
horses  given  to  us  by  Nyleptha, 

Sometimes,  again,  we  went  hawking,  a  pastime  that  is  in  great 
favour  among  the  Zu-Vendi,  who  generally  fly  their  birds  at  a 
species  of  partridge  which  is  remarkable  for  the  swiftness  and 
strength  of  its  flight.  \\'hen  attacked  by  the  hawk  this  bird 
appears  to  lose  its  head,  and,  instead  of  seeking  cover,  flies 
high  into  the  air,  thus  offering  wonderful  sport.  I  have  seen 
one  of  these  partridges  soar  up  almost  out  of  sight  when  fol- 
lowed by  the  hawk.  Still  better  sport  is  offered  by  a  variety  of 
sohtary  snipe  as  big  as  a  small  woodcock,  which  is  plentiful  in 
this  country,  and  which  is  flown  at  with  a  ver)'  small,  agile,  and 
highly-trained  hawk,  with  an  almost  red  tail.  The  zigzagging 
of  the  great  snipe  and  the  lightning  rapidity  of  the  flight  and 
movements  of  the  red-tailed  hawk  make  the  pastime  a  delightful 
one.  Another  variety  of  the  same  amusement  is  the  hunting 
of  a  very  small  species  of  antelope  with  trained  eagles ;  and  it 
certainly  is  a  marvellous  sight  to  see  the  great  bird  soar  and 
soar  till  he  is  nothing  but  a  black  speck  in  the  sunlight,  and 
then  suddenly  come  dashing  down  like  a  cannon-ball  upon 
some  cowering  buck  that  is  hidden  in  a  patch  of  grass  from 
everj'thing  except  that  piercing  eye.  Still  finer  is  the  spectacle 
when  the  eagle  takes  the  buck  running. 

On  other  days  we  would  pay  visits  to  the  country  seats  at 
some  of  the  great  lords'  beautiful  fortified  places,  and  the  villages 
clustering  beneath  their  walls.  Here  we  saw  vineyards  and 
cornfields  and  well-kept  park-hke  ground,  with  such  timber  in 
them  as  filled  me  with  delight,  for  I  do  love  a  good  tree.  There 
it  stands  so  strong  and  sturdy,  and  yet  so  beautiful,  a  very  type 
of  the  best  sort  of  man.  How  proudly  it  lifts  its  bare  head  to 
the  winter  storms,  and  with  what  a  lull  heart  it  rejoices  when 
the  spring  has  come  again  1  How  grand  its  voice  is,  too,  when 
it  talks  with  the  wind  :  a  thousand  aeolian  harps  cannot  equal 
the  beauty  of  the  sighing  of  a  great  tree  in  leaf.  All  day  it 
points  to  the  sunshine  and  all  night  to  the  stars,  and  thus  pas- 
sionless, and  yet  full  of  life,  it  endures  through  the  centuries, 
come  storm,  come  shine,  drawing  its  sustenance  from  the  cool 
bosom  of  its  mother  earth,  and  as  the  slow  years  roll  by,  learn- 


Sorai£  Song.  i6i 

ing  the  great  mysteries  of  growth  and  of  decay.  And  so  on  and 
on  through  generations,  outhving  individuals,  customs,  dynasties 
— all  save  the  landscape  it  adorns  and  human  nature,  till  the 
appointed  day  when  the  wind  wins  the  long  battle  and  rejoices 
over  a  reclaimed  space,  or  decay  puts  the  last  stroke  to  his  fun- 
gus-fingered work. 

Ah,  one  should  always  think  twice  before  one  cuts  down  a 
tree! 

In  the  evenings  it  was  customary  for  Sir  Henry,  Good,  and 
myself  to  dine,  or  rather  sup,  with  their  Majesties — not  every 
night,  indeed,  but  about  three  or  four  times  a  week,  whenever 
they  had  not  much  company,  or  the  affairs  of  state  would  allow  of 
it.  And  I  am  bound  to  say  that  those  little  suppers  were  quite 
the  most  charming  things  of  their  sort  that  I  ever  had  to  do 
with.  How  true  is  the  saying  that  the  very  highest  in  rank  are 
always  the  most  simple  and  kindly.  It  is  from  your  half-and- 
half  sort  of  people  that  you  get  pomposity  and  vulgarity,  the 
difference  between  the  two  being  very  much  what  one  sees 
every  day  in  England  between  the  old,  out-at-elbows,  broken- 
down  county  family,  and  the  overbearing,  purse-proud  people  who 
come  and  '  take  the  place.'  I  really  think  that  Nyleptha's  great- 
est charm  is  her  sweet  simplicity,  and  her  kindly  genuine  inte- 
rest even  in  little  things.  She  is  the  simplest  woman  I  ever 
knew,  and  where  her  passions  are  not  involved,  one  of  the 
sweetest ;  but  she  can  look  queenly  enough  when  she  hkes,  and 
be  as  fierce  as  any  savage  too. 

For  instance,  never  shall  I  forget  that  scene  when  I  for  the 
first  time  was  sure  that  she  was  really  in  love  with  Curtis.  It 
came  about  in  this  way — all  through  Good's  weakness  for  ladies' 
society.  When  we  had  been  employed  for  some  three  months 
in  learning  the  Zu-Vendi  it  struck  Master  Good  that  he  was 
getting  rather  tired  of  the  old  gentlemen  who  did  us  the  honour 
to  lead  us  in  the  way  that  we  should  go,  so  he  proceeded,  with- 
out saying  a  word  to  anybody  else,  to  inform  them  that  it  was  a 
pecuhar  fact,  but  that  we  could  not  make  any  real  progress  in  the 
deeper  intricacies  of  a  foreign  language  unless  we  were  taught 
by  ladies — young  ladies,  he  was  careful  to  explain.  In  his  own 
country,  he  pointed  out,  it  was  habitual  to  choose  the  very  best- 
looking  and  most  charming  girls  who  could  be  found  to  instruct 
any  strangers  who  happened  to  come  that  way,  &c 

All  of  this  the  old  gentlemen    swallowed    open-mouthed. 
There  was,  they  admitted,  reason  in  what  he  said,  since  the 
11 


1 62  Allan  Quatermain, 

contemplation  of  the  beautiful,  as  their  philosophy  taught,  in- 
duced a  certain  porosity  of  mind  similar  to  that  produced  upon 
the  physical  body  by  the  healthful  influences  of  sun  and  air. 
Consequently  it  was  probable  that  we  might  absorb  the  Zu- 
Vendi  tongue  a  little  faster  if  suitable  teachers  could  be  found. 
Another  thing  was  that,  as  the  female  sex  was  naturally  loqua- 
cious, good  practice  would  be  gamed  in  the  viva  voce  depart- 
ment of  our  studies. 

To  all  of  this  Good  gravely  assented,  and  the  learned  gentle- 
men departed,  assuring  him  that  their  orders  were  to  fall  in 
with  our  wishes  in  every  way,  and  that,  if  possible,  our  views 
should  be  met. 

Imagine,  therefore,  the  surprise  and  disgust  of  myself,  and  I 
trust  and  believe  Sir  Henry,  when,  on  entering  the  room  where 
we  were  accustomed  to  carry  on  our  studies  the  following 
morning,  we  found,  instead  of  our  usual  venerable  tutors,  three 
of  the  best-looking  young  women  whom  Milosis  could  produce 
— and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal — who  blushed  and  smiled 
and  curtseyed,  and  gave  us  to  understand  that  they  were  there 
to  carry  on  our  instruction.  Then  Good,  as  we  gazed  at 
one  another  in  bewilderment,  thought  fit  to  explain,  saying 
that  it  had  slipped  his  memory  before — but  the  old  gentlemen 
had  told  him,  on  the  previous  evening,  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  our  further  education  should  be  carried  on  by 
the  other  sex.  I  was  overwhelmed  and  appealed  to  Sir  Henry 
for  advice  in  such  a  crisis. 

'  Well,'  he  said,  '  you  see  the  ladies  are  here,  ain't  they  ?  If 
we  sent  them  away,  don't  you  think  it  might  hurt  their  feelings, 
eh  ?  One  doesn't  like  to  be  rough,  you  see ;  and  they  look 
regular  blues,  don't  they,  eh  ?  ' 

By  this  time  Good  had  already  begun  his  lessons  with  the 
handsomest  of  the  three,  and  so  with  a  sigh  I  yielded.  That 
day  everything  went  very  well :  the  young  ladies  were  certainly 
very  clever,  and  they  only  smiled  when  we  blundered.  I  never 
saw  Good  so  attentive  to  his  books  before,  and  even  Sir  Henry 
appeared  to  tackle  Zu-Vendi  with  a  renewed  zest  *  Ah,'  thought 
I,  '  will  it  always  be  thus  ?  ' 

Next  day  we  were  much  more  lively,  our  work  was  pleasingly 
interspersed  with  questions  about  our  native  country,  what  the 
ladies  were  like  there,  »Jv:c.,  all  of  which  we  answered  as  best 
we  could  in  Zu-Vendi,  and  I  heard  Good  assuring  his  teacher 
that  her  loveliness  was  to  the  beauties  of  Europe  as  the  sun 


Sorais^  Song,  163 

to  the  moon,  to  which  she  replied  with  a  little  toss  of  the  head 
that  she  was  a  plain  teaching  woman  and  nothing  else,  and  that 
it  was  not  kind  '  to  deceive  a  poor  girl  so.'  Then  we  had  a 
little  singing  that  was  really  charming,  so  natural  and  unaffect- 
ed. The  Zu-Vendi  love-songs  are  most  touching.  On  the 
third  day  we  were  all  quite  intimate.  Good  narrated  some  of 
his  previous  love  affairs  to  his  fair  teacher,  and  so  moved  was 
she  that  her  sighs  mingled  with  his  own.  I  discoursed  with 
mine,  a  merry  blue-eyed  girl,  upon  Zu-Vendian  art,  and  never 
saw  that  she  was  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  drop  a  specimen 
of  the  cockroach  tribe  down  my  back,  whilst  in  the  corner  Sir 
Henry  and  his  governess  appeared,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  to 
be  going  through  a  lesson  framed  on  the  great  educational 
principles  laid  down  by  Wackford  Squeers,  Esq.,  though  in  a 
very  modified  or  rather  spiritualised  form.  The  lady  softly  re- 
peated the  Zu-Vendi  word  for  *  hand,'  and  he  took  hers  ; 
'  eyes,'  and  he  gazed  deep  into  her  brown  orbs ;  *  lips,'  and — 
but  just  at  that  moment  my  young  lady  dropped  the  cockroach 
down  my  back  and  ran  away  laughing.  Now  if  there  is  one 
thing  I  loathe  more  than  another  it  is  cockroaches,  and  moved 
quite  beyond  myself,  and  yet  laughing  at  her  impudence,  I 
took  up  the  cushion  she  had  been  sitting  on  and  threw  it  after 
her.  Imagine  then  my  shame — my  horror,  and  my  distress — 
when  the  door  opened,  and,  attended  by  two  guards  only,  in 
walked  Nyleptha.  The  cushion  could  not  be  recalled  (it 
missed  the  girl  and  hit  one  of  the  guards  on  the  head),  but 
I  instantly  and  ineffectually  tried  to  look  as  though  I  had  not 
thrown  it.  Good  ceased  his  sighing,  and  began  to  murder 
Zu-Vendi  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  and  Sir  Henry  whistled 
and  looked  silly.  As  for  the  poor  girls,  they  were  utterly 
dumbfounded. 

And  Nyleptha !  she  drew  herself  up  till  her  frame  seemed  to 
tower  even  above  that  of  the  tall  guards,  and  her  face  went 
first  red,  and  then  pale  as  death. 

'  Guards,'  she  said  in  a  quiet  choked  voice,  and  pointing  at 
the  fair  but  unconscious  disciple  of  Wackford  Squeers,  *  slay 
me  that  worn. an.' 

The  men  hesitated,  as  well  they  might. 

'  Will  ye  do  my  bidding,'  she  said  again  in  the  same  voice, 
'  or  will  ye  not  ?  " 

Then  they  advanced  upon  the  girl  with  uplifted  spears.     By 


164  Allayi  Quaiermain, 

this  time  Sir  Henry  had  recovered  himself,  and  saw  that  the 
comedy  was  likely  to  turn  into  a  tragedy. 

'  Stand  back,'  he  said  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  at  the  same  time 
getting  in  front  of  ^he  terrified  girl.  '  Shame  on  thee,  Nylej> 
tha — shame  !     Thou  shalt  not  kill  her.' 

'  Doubtless  thou  hast  good  reason  to  try  to  protect  her. 
Thou  couldst  hardly  do  less  in  honour,'  answered  the  infuriated 
Queen  ;  '  but  she  shall  die — she  shall  die,'  and  she  stamped 
her  little  foot. 

'  It  is  well,'  he  answered  ;  '  then  I  will  die  with  her.  I  am 
thy  servant,  oh  Queen  !  do  with  me  even  as  thou  wilt.'  And  he 
bowed  towards  her,  and  fixed  his  clear  eyes  contemptuously  on 
her  face. 

'  I  could  wish  to  slay  thee  too,'  she  answered  ;  for  thou  dost 
make  a  mock  of  me  ; '  and  then  feeling  that  she  was  mastered, 
and  I  suppose  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  she  burst  into  such 
a  storm  of  tears,  and  looked  so  royally  lovely  in  her  passionate 
distress,  that,  old  as  I  am,  I  must  say  I  envied  Curtis  his  task 
of  supporting  her.  It  was  rather  odd  to  see  him  holding  her  in 
his  arms  considering  what  had  just  passed — a  thought  that 
seemed  to  occur  to  herself,  for  presently  she  wrenched  herself 
free  and  went,  leaving  us  all  much  disturbed. 

Presently,  however,  one  of  the  guards  returned  with  a  mes- 
sage to  the  girls  that  they  were,  on  pain  of  death,  to  leave  the 
city  and  return  to  their  homes  in  the  country,  and  that  no  fur- 
ther harm  vrould  come  to  them  ;  and  accordingly  they  went, 
one  of  them  remarking  philosophically  that  it  could  not  be 
helped,  and  that  it  was  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  they  had 
taught  us  a  little  serviceable  Zu-Vendi.  Mine  was  an  exceed- 
ingly nice  girl,  and,  overlooking  the  cockroach,  I  made  her 
a  present  of  my  favourite  lucky  sixpence  with  a  hole  in  it 
when  she  went  away.  After  that  our  former  masters  resum- 
ed their  course  of  instruction,  needless  to  say  to  my  great 
relief 

That  night,  when  in  fear  and  trembling  we  attended  the 
royal  supper  table,  we  found  that  Nyleptha  was  laid  up  with  a 
bad  headache.  That  headache  lasted  for  three  whole  days  ; 
but  on  the  fourth  she  was  present  at  supper  as  usual,  and  with 
the  most  gracious  and  sweet  smile  gave  Sir  Henry  her  hand  to 
lead  her  to  the  table.  No  allusion  was  made  to  the  little  affair 
described  above  beyond  her  saying,  with  a  charming  air  of  in- 
nocence, that  when  she  came  to  see  us  at  our  studies  the  other 


Sorais*  Song.  165 

day  she  had  been  seized  with  a  giddiness  from  which  she  had 
only  now  recovered.  She  supposed,  she  added  with  a  touch  of 
the  humour  that  was  common  to  her,  that  it  was  the  sight  of 
people  working  so  hard  which  had  affected  her. 

In  reply  Sir  Henry  said,  dryly,  that  he  had  thought  she  did 
notlook  quite  herself  on  that  day,  whereat  she  flashed  one  of 
those  quick  glances  of  hers  at  him,  w^hich  if  he  had  the 
feehngs  of  a  man  must  have  gone  through  him  like  a  knife, 
and  the  subject  dropped  entirely.  Indeed,  after  supper  was 
over  Nyleptha  condescended  to  put  us  through  an  examination 
to  see  what  we  had  learnt,  and  to  express  herself  well  satisfied 
with  the  results.  Indeed,  she  proceeded  to  give  us,  especially 
Sir  Henry,  a  lesson  on  her  own  account,  and  very  interesting 
we  found  it. 

And  all  the  while  that  we  talked,  or  rather  tried  to  talk,  and 
laughed,  Sorais  would  sit  there  in  her  carven  ivory  chair  and 
look  at  us  and  read  us  all  like  a  book,  only  from  time  to  time 
saying  a  few  words,  and  smiling  that  quick  ominous  smile  of 
hers  which  was  more  like  a  flash  of  summer  lightning  on  a  dark 
cloud  than  anything  else.  And  as  near  to  her  as  he  dared 
would  sit  Good,  worshipping  through  his  eyeglass,  for  he  really 
was  getting  seriously  devoted  to  this  sombre  beauty,  of  whom, 
speaking  personally,  I  felt  terribly  afraid.  I  watched  her  keenly, 
and  soon  I  found  out  that  for  all  her  apparent  impassibility  she 
was  at  heart  bitterly  jealous  of  Nyleptha.  Another  thing  I 
found  out,  and  the  discovery  filled  me  with  dismay,  and  that 
was,  that  she  a/so  was  growing  devoted  to  Sir  Henry  Curtis.  Of 
course  I  could  not  be  sure ;  it  is  not  easy  to  read  so  cold  and 
haughty  a  woman  ;  but  I  noticed  one  or  two  little  things,  and, 
as  elephant  hunters  know,  dried  grass  shows  which  way  the 
wind  has  set. 

And  so  another  three  months  passed  over  us,  by  which  time 
we  had  all  attained  to  a  very  considerable  mastery  of  the  Zu- 
Vendi  language,  which  is  an  easy  one  to  learn.  And  as  the 
time  went  on  we  became  great  favourites  with  the  people,  and 
even  with  the  courtiers,  gaining  an  enormous  reputation  for 
cleverness,  because,  as  I  think  I  have  said,  Sir  Henry  was  able 
to  show  them  how  to  make  glass,  which  was  a  national  w^ant, 
and  also,  by  the  help  of  a  twenty-year  almanac  that  we  had  with 
us,  to  predict  various  heavenly  combinations  which  were  quite 
unsuspected  by  the  native  astronomers.  We  even  succeeded 
in  demonstrating  the  principle  of  the  steam-engine  to  a  gather- 


1 66  Allan  Quaiennain, 

ing  of  the  learned  men,  who  were  filled  with  amazement  ;  and 
several  other  things  of  the  same  sort  we  did.  And  so  it  came 
about  that  the  people  made  up  their  minds  that  we  must  on  no 
account  be  allowed  to  go  out  of  the  country  (which  indeed  was 
an  apparent  impossibility  even  if  we  had  wished  it),  and  we 
were  advanced  to  great  honour  and  made  officers  of  the  body- 
guards of  the  sister  Queens,  while  permanent  quarters  were  as- 
signed to  us  in  the  palace,  and  our  opinion  was  asked  upon 
questions  of  national  policy. 

But  blue  as  the  sky  seemed,  there  was  a  cloud,  and  a  big  one' 
on  the  horizon.  We  had  indeed  heard  no  more  of  those  con- 
founded hippopotami,  but  it  is  not  on  that  account  to  be  sup- 
posed that  our  sacrilege  was  forgotten,  or  the  enmity  of  the 
great  and  powerful  priesthood  headed  by  Agon  appeased.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  burning  the  more  fiercely  because  it  was 
necessarily  suppressed,  and  what  had  perhaps  begun  in  bigotry 
was  ending  in  downright  direct  hatred  born  of  jealousy.  Hith- 
erto, the  priests  had  been  the  wise  men  of  the  land,  and  were  on 
this  account,  as  well  as  from  superstitious  causes,  looked  on 
with  peculiar  veneration.  But  our  arrival,  with  our  outlandish 
wisdom  and  our  strange  inventions  and  hints  of  unimagined 
things,  dealt  a  serious  blow  to  this  state  of  affairs,  and,  among 
the  educated  Zu-Vendi,  went  far  toward  destroying  the  priestly 
prestige.  A  still  worse  an"ront  to  them,  however,  was  the  favour 
with  which  we  were  regarded,  and  the  trust  that  was  reposed  in 
us.  All  these  things  tended  to  make  us  excessively  obnoxious 
to  the  great  sacerdotal  clan,  the  most  powerful  because  the  most 
united  faction  in  the  kingdom. 

Another  source  of  imminent  danger  to  us  was  the  rising 
envy  of  some  of  the  great  lords  headed  by  Nasta,  whose  antagon- 
ism to  us  had  at  best  been  but  thinly  veiled,  and  which  now 
threatened  to  break  out  into  open  flame.  Nasta  had  for  some 
years  been  a  candidate  for  Nyleptha's  hand  in  marriage,  and 
when  we  appeared  on  the  scene  I  fancy,  from  all  I  could  gather, 
that  though  there  were  still  many  obstacles  in  his  path,  success 
was  by  no  means  out  of  his  reach.  But  now  all  this  had  chang- 
ed ;  the  coy  Nyleptha  smiled  no  more  in  his  direction,  and  he 
was  not  slow  to  guess  the  cause.  Infuriated  and  alarmed,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  Sorais,  only  to  find  that  he  might  as  well 
try  to  woo  a  mountain  side.  With  a  bitter  jest  or  two  about  his 
fickleness,  that  door  was  closed  on  him  for  ever.  So  Nasta  be- 
thought him  of  the  thirty  thousand  wild  swordsmen  who  would 


Sorais^  Song,  167 

pour  down  at  his  bidding  through  the  northern  mountain 
passes,  and  no  doubt  vowed  to  adorn  the  gates  of  Milosis  with 
our  heads. 

But  first  he  determined,  as  we  learned,  to  make  one  more  at- 
tempt and  to  demand  the  hand  of  Nyleptha  in  the  open  Court 
after  the  formal  annual  ceremony  of  the  signing  of  the  laws  that 
had  been  proclaimed  by  the  Queens  during  the  year. 

Of  this  astounding  fact  Nyleptha  heard  with  simulated  non- 
chalance, and  with  a  little  trembling  of  the  voice  herself  inform- 
ed us  of  it  as  we  sat  at  supper  on  the  night  preceding  the  great 
ceremony  of  the  law-signing. 

Sir  Henry  bit  his  lip,  and,  do  what  he  could  to  prevent  it, 
plainly  showed  his  agitation. 

'  And  what  answer  will  the  Queen  be  pleased  to  give  to  the 
great  Lord  ? '  asked  I,  in  a  jesting  manner. 

'  Answer,  Macumazahn  '  (for  we  had  elected  to  pass  by  our 
Zulu  names  in  Zu-Vendis),  she  said,  with  a  pretty  shrug  of  her 
ivory  shoulder.  *  Nay,  I  know  not  ;  what  is  a  poor  woman 
to  do,  when  the  wooer  has  thirty  thousand  swords  wherewith 
to  urge  his  love?  '  And  from  under  her  long  lashes  she 
glanced  at  Curtis. 

Just  then  we  rose  from  the  table  to  adjourn  into  another 
room.  '  Quatermain,  a  word,  quick,'  said  Sir  Henry  to  me. 
'  Listen.  I  have  never  spoken  about  it,  but  surely  you  have 
guessed  :  I  love  Nyleptha.     What  am  I  to  do  ? ' 

Fortunately,  I  had  more  or  less  already  taken  the  question 
into  consideration,  and  was  therefore  able  to  give  such  answer 
as  seemed  the  wisest  to  me. 

'  You  must  speak  to  Nyleptha  to-night,'  I  said.  *  Now  is 
your  time,  now  or  never.  Listen.  In  the  sitting-room  get 
near  to  her,  and  whisper  to  her  to  meet  you  at  midnight  by  the 
Rademas  statue  at  the  end  of  the  great  hall.  I  will  keep  watch 
for  you  there.     Now  or  never,  Curtis.' 

We  passed  on  into  the  other  room.  Nyleptha  was  sitting, 
her  hands  before  her,  and  a  sad  anxious  look  upon  her  lovely 
face.  A  little  way  off  was  Sorais  talking  to  Good  in  her  slow 
measured  tones. 

The  time  went  on  ;  in  another  quarter  of  an  hour  I  knew 
that,  according  to  their  habit,  the  Queens  would  retire.  As  yet, 
Sir  Henry  had  had  no  chance  of  saying  a  w^ord  in  private  ;  in- 
deed, though  we  saw  inucli  of  the  royal  sisters,  it  was  by  no 


1 68  Allan  Quatermain, 

means  easy  to  see  them  alone.    I  racked  my  brains,  and  at  last 
an  idea  came  to  me. 

'Will  the  Queen  be  pleased,'  I  said,  bowing  low  before 
Sorais,  *  to  sing  unto  her  servants  ?  Our  hearts  are  heavy  this 
night ;  sing  to  us,  oh  Lady  of  the  Night '  (Sorais'  favourite  name 
among  the  people). 

*  My  songs,  Macumazahn,  are  not  such  as  to  lighten  the 
heavy  heart,  yet  will  I  sing  if  it  pleases  thee,'  she  answered ; 
and  she  rose  and  went  a  few  paces  to  a  table  whereon  lay  an 
instrument  not  unlike  a  zither,  and  struck  a  few  wandering 
chords. 

Then  suddenly,  hke  the  notes  of  some  deep-throated  bird, 
her  rounded  voice  rang  out  in  song  so  wildly  sweet,  and  yet 
with  so  eerie  and  sad  a  refrain,  that  it  made  the  very  blood 
stand  still.  Up,  up  soared  the  golden  notes,  that  seemed  to 
melt  far  away,  and  then  to  grow  again  and  travel  on,  laden 
with  all  the  sorrow  of  the  world  and  all  the  despair  of  the 
lost.  It  was  a  marvellous  song,  but  I  had  not  time  to  listen 
to  it  properly.  However,  I  got  the  words  of  it  afterwards,  and 
here  is  a  translation  of  its  burden,  so  far  as  it  admits  of  being 
translated  at  all. 

SORAISr  SONG. 

As  a  desolate  bird  that  through  darkness  its  lost  way  is  winging, 
As  a  hand  that  is  helplessly  raised  when  death's  siclde  is  swinging, 
So  is  life  I  ay,  the  hfe  that  lends  passion  and  breath  to  my  singing. 

As  the  nightingale's  song  that  is  full  of  a  sweetness  unspoken, 

As  a  spirit  unbarring  the  gates  of  the  skies  for  a  token, 

So  is  love  1  ay,  the  love  that  shall  fall  when  his  pinion  is  broken. 

As  the  tramp  of  the  legions  when  trumpets  their  challenge  are  sending, 
As  the  shoat  of  tlie  Storm-god  when  ligntnings  the  black  sky  are  rending, 
So  is  power  1  ay,  the  power  that  shall  lie  in  the  dust  at  its  ending. 

So  short  is  otu-  life ;  yet  with  space  for  all  things  to  forsake  us, 

A  bitter  delusion,  a  dream  from  which  nought  can  awake  us, 

Till  Death's  dogging  footsteps  at  morn  or  at  eve  shall  o'ertaLe  us. 

Refrain. 

Oh,  the  world  is  fair  at  the  dawning — dawning — dawning^ 
But  the  red  sun  sinks  in  blood,  the  red  sun  sinks  in  blood. 

I  only  ^vish  that  I  could  write  down  the  music  too. 
'  Now,  Curtis,  now,'  I  whispered,  when  she  began  the  second 
verse,  and  turned  my  back. 


Before  the  Statue,  169 

*  Nyleptha,'  he  said — for  my  nerves  were  so  much  on  the 
stretch  that  I  could  hear  every  word,  low  as  it  was  spoken, 
even  through  Sorais'  divine  notes — *  Nyleptha,  I  must  speak 
with  thee  this  night,  upon  my  life  I  must.  Say  me  not  nay  ; 
oh,  say  me  not  nay  ! ' 

'  How  can  I  speak  with  thee  ? '  she  answered,  looking 
fixedly  before  her ;  *  Queens  are  not  like  other  people.  I  am 
surrounded  and  watched' 

'  Listen,  Nyleptha,  thus.  I  will  be  before  the  statue  of 
Rademas  in  the  great  hall  at  midnight.  I  have  the  coun- 
tersign and  can  pass  in.  Macumazahn  will  be  there  to  keep 
guard,  and  with  him  the  Zulu.  Oh  come,  my  Queen,  deny 
me  not.' 

*  It  is  not  seemly,'  she  murmured,  '  and  to-morrow ' 

Just  then  the  music  began  to  die  in  the  last  wail  of  the  refrain, 

and  Sorais  slowly  turned  her  round. 

'I  will  be  there,' said  Nyleptha  hurriedly;  *on  thy  life  see 
that  thou  fail  me  not.'  ^ 


CHAPTER  XVL 

BEFORE   THE   STATUE, 


It  was  night — dead  night — and  the  silence  lay  on  the  Frowning 
City  Hke  a  cloud. 

Secretly,  as  evildoers.  Sir  Henry  Curtis,  Umslopogaas  and  my- 
self threaded  our  way  through  the  passages  towards  a  by-en- 
trance to  the  great  Throne  Chamber.  Once  we  were  met  by  the 
fierce  rattling  challenge  of  the  sentry.  I  gave  the  countersign, 
and  the  man  grounded  his  spear  and  let  us  pass.  Also  we  were 
officers  of  the  Queen's  bodyguard,  and  in  that  capacity  had  a 
right  to  come  and  go  unquestioned. 

We  gained  the  hall  in  safety.  So  empty  and  so  still  was  it, 
that  even  when  we  had  passed  the  sound  of  our  footsteps  yet 
echoed  up  the  lofty  walls,  vibrating  faintly  and  still  more  faintly 
against  the  cavern  roof,  like  ghosts  of  the  footsteps  of  dead  men 
haunting  the  place,  that  once  they  trod. 
K 


I/O  Allan  Qit  iter  main. 

It  was  an  eerie  spot,  and  it  oppressed  me.  The  moon  was 
full,  and  threw  great  pencils  and  patches  of  light  through  the 
high  windowless  openings  in  the  walls,  that  lay  pure  and  beau- 
tiful upon  the  blackness  of  the  marble  floor,  like  white  flowers 
on  a  coffin.  One  of  these  silver  arrows  fell  upon  the  statue  of 
the  sleeping  Radem^,  ^nd  of  the  angel  form  bent  over  him, 
illumining  it,  and  a  small  circle  round  it,  with  a  soft  clear 
liglit,  reminding  me  of  that  with  which  Catholics  illumine  the 
altars  of  their  cathedrals. 

Here  by  the  statue  we  took  our  stand,  and  waited.  Sir 
Henry  and  I  close  together,  Umslopogaas  some  paces  off  in 
the  darkness,  so  that  I  could  only  just  make  out  his  towering 
outhne  leaning  on  the  outhne  of  an  axe. 

So  long  did  we  wait  that  I  almost  fell  asleep  resting  against 
the  cold  marble,  but  was  suddenly  aroused  by  hearing  Curtis 
give  a  quick  catching  breath.  Then  from  far,  far  away  there 
came  a  little  sound  as  though  the  statues  that  lined  the  walls 
were  whispering  to  each  other  some  message  of  the  ages. 

It  was  the  faint  sweep  of  a  lady  s  dress.  Nearer  it  grew, 
and  nearer  yet.  We  could  see  a  figure  steal  from  patch  to 
patch  of  moonlight,  and  even  hear  the  soft  fall  of  sandalled 
feet.  Another  second  and  I  saw  the  black  silhouette  of  the 
old  Zulu  raise  its  arm  in  mute  salute,  and  Nyleptha  was  be- 
fore us. 

Oh,  how  beautiful  she  looked  as  she  paused  a  moment  just 
within  the  circle  of  the  moonlight !  Her  hand  was  pressed 
upon  her  heart,  and  her  white  bosom  heaved  beneath  it. 
Round  her  head  a  broidered  scarf  was  loosely  thrown,  partially 
shadowing  the  perfect  face,  and  thus  rendering  it  even  more 
lovely  ;  for  beauty,  dependent  as  it  is  to  a  certain  extent  upon 
the  imagination,  is  never  so  beautiful  as  when  it  is  halt  hid. 
There  she  stood  radiant  but  half  doubting,  stately  and  yet  so 
sweet.  It  was  but  a  moment,  but  I  then  and  there  fell  in  love 
with  her  myself,  and  have  remained  so  to  this  hour  ;  for,  in- 
deed, she  looked  more  like  an  angel  out  of  heaven  than  a 
loving,  passionate,  mortal  woman.  Low  we  bowed  before  her, 
and  then  she  spoke. 

*  I  have  come,'  she  whispered,  *  but  it  was  at  great  risk.  Ye 
know  not  how  I  am  watched.  The  priests  watch  me.  Sorais 
watches  me  with  those  great  eyes  of  hers.  My  very  guards 
are  spies  upon  me.  Nasta  watches  me  too.  Oh,  let  him  be 
careiul ! '  and  she  stamped  her  toot.     '  Let  him  be  careiul;  I 


Before  the  Statue,  171 

am  a  woman,  and  therefore  hard  to  drive.  Ay,  and  I  am  a 
Queen,  too,  and  can  still  avenge.  Let  him  be  careful,  1  say, 
lest  in  place  of  giving  him  my  hand  I  take  his  head,'  and  she 
ended  the  outburst  with  a  little  sob,  and  then  smiled  up  at  us 
bewitchingly  and  laughed. 

*  Thou  didst  bid  me  come  hither,  my  Lord  Incubu '  (Curtis 
had  taught  her  to  call  him  so).  *  Doubtless  it  is  about  busi- 
ness of  the  State,  for  I  know  that  thou  art  ever  full  of  great 
ideas  and  plans  for  my  welfare  and  my  people's.  So  even  as 
a  Queen  should  I  have  come,  though  I  greatly  fear  the  dark 
alone,'  and  again  she  laughed  and  gave  him  a  glance  from  her 
grey  eyes. 

At  this  point  I  thought  it  wise  to  move  a  little,  since 
secrets  '  of  the  State '  should  not  be  made  public  property  ; 
but  she  would  not  let  me  go  far,  peremptorily  stopping  me 
within  five  yards  or  so,  saying  that  she  feared  surprise.  So 
it  came  to  pass  that,  however  unwillingly,  I  heard  all  that 
passed. 

*Thou  knowest,  Nyleptha,' said  Sir  Henry,  'that  it  was  for 
none  of  these  things  that  I  asked  thee  to  meet  me  at  this  lonely 
place.  Nyleptha,  waste  not  the  time  in  pleasantry,  but  listen 
to  me,  for — I  love  thee.' 

As  he  said  the  words  I  saw  her  face  break  up,  as  it  were, 
and  change.  The  coquetry  went  out  of  it,  and  in  its  place 
there  shone  a  great  light  of  love  which  seemed  to  glorify  it,  and 
make  it  like  that  of  the  marble  angel  overhead.  I  could  not 
help  thinking  that  it  must  have  been  a  touch  of  prophetic  in- 
stinct which  made  the  long  dead  Rademas  limn,  in  the  features 
of  the  angel  of  his  inspiring  vision,  so  strange  a  likeness  of  his 
own  descendant.  Sir  Henry,  also,  must  have  observed  and 
been  struck  by  the  likeness,  for,  catching  the  look  upon  Ny- 
leptha's  face,  he  glanced  quickly  from  it  to  the  moonUt  statue, 
and  then  back  again  at  his  beloved. 

'  Thou  sayest  thou  dost  love  me,'  she  said  in  a  low  voice, 

*  and  thy  voice  rings  true,  but  how  am  I  to  know  that  thou  dost 
speak  the  truth  ?  ' 

*  Though,'  she  went   on  with   proud  humility,  and  in   the 
stately  third  person  which  is  so  largely  used  by  the  Zu-Vendi, 

*  I  be  as  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  my  lord,'  and  she  curtseyed 
towards  him,  '  who  comes  from  among  a  wonderful  people,  to 
whom  my  people  are  but  children,  yet  here  am  I  a  queen  and  a 

eader  of  men,  and  if  I  would  go  to  battle  a  hundred  thousand 


1/2  Allan  (Juatermain, 

Fpears  shall  sparkle  in  my  train  like  stars  glimmering  down  the 
path  of  the  bent  moon.  And  although  my  beauty  be  a  little 
thing  in  the  eyes  of  my  lord,'  and  she  lifted  her  broidered  skirt 
and  curtseyed  again,  '  yet  here  among  my  own  people  am  I 
held  right  fair,  and  ever  since  I  was  a  woman  the  great  lords 
of  my  kingdom  have  made  quarrel  concerning  me,  as  though, 
forsooth,'  she  added  with  a  flash  of  passion,  '  I  were  a  deer 
to  be  pulled  down  by  the  hungriest  wolf,  or  a  horse  to  be  sold 
to  the  highest  bidder.  Let  my  lord  pardon  me  if  I  weary  my 
lord,  but  it  hath  pleased  my  lord  to  say  that  he  loves  me,  Ny- 
leptha,  a  Queen  of  the  Zu-Vendi,  and  therefore  would  I  say 
that  though  my  hand  and  my  love  be  not  much  to  my  lord,  yet 
to  me  are  they  all.' 

*  Oh  ! '  she  cried,  with  a  sudden  and  thrilling  change  of 
voice,  and  modifying  her  dignified  tone  of  address.  '  Oh,  how 
can  I  know  that  thou  lovest  but  me  ?  How  can  I  know  that 
thou  wilt  not  weary  of  me  and  seek  thine  own  place  again, 
leaving  me  desolate  ?  Who  is  there  to  tell  me  but  that  thou 
lovest  some  other  woman,  some  fair  woman  unknown  to  me, 
but  who  yet  draws  breath  beneath  this  same  moon  that  shines 
on  me  to-night  ?  Tell  me  how  am  I  to  know  ? '  And  she 
clasped  her  hands  and  stretched  them  out  towards  him  and 
looked  appealingly  into  his  face. 

'  Nyleptha,'  answered  Sir  Henry,  adopting  the  Zu-Vendi  way 
of  speech  ;  *  I  have  told  thee  that  I  love  thee ;  how  am  I  to 
tell  thee  how  much  I  love  thee  ?  Is  there  then  a  measure  for 
love  ?  Yet  will  I  try.  I  say  not  that  I  have  never  looked  upon 
another  woman  with  favour,  but  this  I  say  that  I  love  thee  with 
all  my  life  and  with  all  my  strength ;  that  I  love  thee  now  and 
shall  love  thee  till  I  grow  cold  in  death,  ay,  and  as  I  beheve 
beyond  my  death,  and  on  and  on  forever :  I  say  that  thy  voice 
is  music  to  my  ear,  and  thy  touch  as  water  to  a  thirsty  land, 
that  when  thou  art  there  the  world  is  beautiful,  and  when  I  see 
thee  not  it  is  as  though  the  light  was  dead.  Oh,  Nyleptha,  I 
will  never  leave  thee ;  here  and  now  for  thy  dear  sake  I  will 
forget  my  people  and  my  father's  house,  yea,  I  renounce  them 
all.  By  thy  side  will  I  live,  Nyleptha,  and  at  thy  side  will  I 
die.' 

He  paused  and  gazed  at  her  earnestly,  but  she  hung  her 
head  like  a  lily,  and  said  never  a  word. 

'  Look  1'  he  went  on,  pointing  to  the  statue  on  which  the  moon- 
light played  so  brightly.     '  Thou  seest  that  angel  woman  who 


Before  tJie  Statue,  173 

rests  her  hand  upon  the  forehead  of  the  sleeping  man,  and 
thou  seest  how  at  a  touch  his  soul  flames  up  and  shines  out 
through  his  flesh,  even  as  a  lamp  at  the  touch  of  the  fire,  so  is 
it  with  me  and  thee,  Nyleptha.  Thou  hast  awakened  my  soul 
and  called  it  forth,  and  now,  Nyleptha,  it  is  not  mine,  not  mine, 
but  thine  and  thine  only.  There  is  no  more  for  me  to  say ;  in 
thy  hands  is  my  hfe.'  And  he  leaned  back  against  the  pedestal 
of  the  statue,  looking  very  pale,  and  his  eyes  shining,  but  proud 
and  handsome  as  a  god. 

Slowly,  slowly  she  raised  her  head,  and  fixed  her  wonderful 
eyes,  all  alight  with  the  greatness  of  her  passion,  full  upon  his 
face,  as  though  to  read  his  very  soul.  Then  at  last  she  spoke, 
low  indeed,  but  clearly  as  a  silver  bell. 

^  '  Of  a  truth,  weak  woman  that  I  am,  I  do  believe  thee.  Ill 
Till  be  the  day  for  thee  and  for  nte  also  if  it  be  my  fate  to  learn 
that  I  have  believed  a  lie.  And  now  hearken  unto  me,  oh  man, 
who  hath  wandered  here  from  far  to  steal  my  heart  and  make 
me  all  thine  own.  I  put  my  hand  upon  thy  hand  thus,  and 
thus  I,  whose  lips  have  never  kissed  before,  do  kiss  thee  on  the 
brow ;  and  now  by  my  hand  and  by  that  first  and  holy  kiss,  ay, 
by  my  people's  weal  and  by  my  throne  that  like  enough  I  shall 
lose  for  thee — by  the  name  of  my  high  House,  by  the  sacred 
stone  and  by  the  eternal  majesty  of  the  Sun,  I  swear  that  for 
thee  will  I  hve  and  die.  And  I  swear  that  I  will  love  thee  and 
thee  only  till  death,  ay,  and  beyond,  if  as  thou  sayest  there  be 
a  beyond,  and  that  thy  will  shall  be  my  will,  and  thy  ways  my 
ways.' 

*  Oh  see,  see,  my  lord  !  thou  knowest  not  how  humble  is  she 
who  loves  ;  I,  who  am  a  Queen,  I  kneel  before  thee,  even  at 
thy  feet  I  do  my  homage ; '  and  the  lovely  impassioned  crea- 
ture flung  herself  down  on  her  knees  on  the  cold  marble  before 
\iim.  And  after  that  I  really  do  not  know  what  happened,  for 
I  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  cleared  ofl"  to  refresh  myself 
with  a  little  of  old  Umslopogaas's  society,  leaving  them  to  settle 
it  their  own  way,  and  a  very  long  time  they  were  about  it. 

I  found  the  old  warrior  leaning  on  Inkosi-kaas  as  usual,  and 
surveying  the  scene  in  a  patch  of  moonlight  with  a  grim  smile 
of  amusement. 

'  Ah,  Macumazahn,'  he  said,  *  I  suppose  it  is  because  I  am 

getting  old,  but  I  don't  think  that  I  shall  ever  learn  to  under- 

.  stand  the  ways  of  you  white  people.      Look  there  now,  I  pray 

thee,  they  are  a  pretty  pair  of  doves,  but  what  is  all  the  fuss 


174  Allan  Qtiatermaitu 

about,  Macumazahn  ?  He  wants  a  wife,  and  she  wants  a  hus- 
band, then  why  does  he  not  pay  his  cows  down*  Hke  a  man  and 
have  done  with  it  ?  It  would  save  a  deal  of  trouble,  and  we 
should  have  had  our  night's  sleep.  But  there  they  go,  talk,  talk, 
talk,  and  kiss,  kiss,  kiss,  like  mad  things.     Eugh  1 ' 

Some  three-quarters  of  an  hour  afterwards  the  '  pair  of  doves  ' 
came  strolling  towards  us,  Curtis  looking  slightly  silly,  and  Ny- 
ieptha  remarking  calmly  that  the  moonlight  made  very  pretty 
elTects  on  the  marble.  Then,  for  she  was  in  a  most  gracious 
mood,  she  took  my  hand  and  said  that  I  was  *  her  Lord's  '  dear 
friend,  and  therefore  most  dear  to  her — not  a  word  for  my  own 
sake,  you  see.  Next  she  lifted  Umslopogaas's  axe,  and  exam- 
ined It  curiously,  saying  significantly  as  she  did  so  that  he 
might  soon  have  cause  to  use  it  in  defence  of  her. 

After  that  she  nodded  prettily  to  us  all,  and  casting  one  ten- 
der glance  at  her  lover,  glided  off  into  the  darkness  like  a 
beautiful  vision. 

When  we  got  back  to  our  quarters,  which  we  did  without 
accident,  Curtis  asked  me  jocularly  what  I  was  thinking  about. 
'  I  am  wondering,'  I  answered,  '  on  what  principle  it  is  ar- 
ranged that  some  people  should  find  beautiful  queens  to  fall 
in  love  with  them,  while  others  find  nobody  at  all,  or  worse  than 
nobody  ;  and  I  am  also  wondering  how  many  brave  men's  lives 
this  night's  work  will  cost.'  It  was  rather  nasty  of  me,  perhaps, 
but  somehow  all  the  feelings  do  not  evaporate  with  age,  and  I 
could  not  help  being  a  little  jealous  of  my  old  friend's  luck. 
Vanity,  my  sons  ;  vanity  of  vanities  ! 

On  the  following  morning  Good  was  informed  of  the  happy 
occurrence,  and  positively  rippled  with  smiles  that,  originating 
somewhere  about  the  mouth,  slowly  travelled  up  his  face  like 
the  rings  in  a  duckpond,  till  they  flowed  over  the  brim  of  his 
eye-glass  and  went  where  sweet  smiles  go.  The  fact  of  the 
matter,  however,  was  that  not  only  was  Good  rejoiced  about  the 
thing  on  its  own  merits,  but  also  for  personal  reasons.  He 
adored  Sorais  quite  as  earnestly  as  Sir  Henry  adored  Nyleptha, 
and  his  adoration  had  not  altogether  prospered.  Indeed,  it 
had  seemed  to  him  and  to  me  also  that  the  dark  Cleopatra-like 
queen  favoured  Curtis  in  her  own  curious  inscrutable  way  much 
more  than  Good.  Therefore  it  was  a  relief  to  him  to  learn 
that  his  unconscious  rival  was  permanently  and  satisfactorily  at- 

•  Alluding  to  the  Zulu  custom. — A.Q. 


Before  the  Statue,  175 

tached  in  another  direction.  His  face  fell  a  little,  however, 
when  he  was  told  that  the  whole  thing  was  to  be  kept  as  secret 
as  the  dead,  above  all  from  Sorais  for  the  present,  inasmuch  as 
the  political  convulsion  which  would  follow  such  an  announce- 
ment at  the  moment  would  be  altogether  too  great  to  face,  and 
would  very  possibly,  if  prematurely  made,  shake  Nyleptha  from 
her  throne. 

That  morning  we  again  attended  in  the  Throne  Hall,  and  I 
could  not  help  smiling  to  myself  when  I  compared  the  visit  to 
our  last,  and  reflecting  that,  if  walls  could  speak,  they  would 
have  strange  tales  to  tell. 

What  actresses  women  are  !     There,  high  upon   her  golden 
throne,  draped  in  her  blazoned  *  kaf '  or  robe  of  state,  sat  the 
fair  Nyleptha,  and  when  Sir  Henry  came  in  a  little  late,  dressed 
in  the  full  uniform  of  an  officer  of  her  guard  and  humbly  bent 
himself  before  her,  she  merely  acknowledged  his  salute  with  a 
careless  nod  and  turned  her  head  coldly  aside.      It  was  a  very 
large  Court,  for  not  only  did  the  ceremony  of  the  signing  of  the 
laws  attract  many  outside  of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend, 
but  also  the  rumour  that  Nasta  was  going  to  publicly   ask  the 
hand  of  Nyleptha  in  marriage  had  gone  abroad,  with  the  result 
that  the  great  hall  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.     There 
were  our  friends  the  priests  in  force,  headed  by  Agon,  who  re- 
garded us  with  a  vindictive  eye ;  and  a  most   imposing   band 
they  were,  with  their  long  white  embroidered  robes  girt  with  a 
golden  chain  from  which  hung  the  fish-like  scales.     There,  too, 
were  a  number  of  the  lords,  each  with  a  band  of  b'-illiantly  at- 
tired attendants,  and  prominent  among  them  was  Nasta,  strok- 
ing his  black  beard  meditatively  and  looking  unusually  unplea- 
sant.    It  was  a  splendid  and  impressive  sight,  especially  when 
the  officer  having  read  out  each  law  it  was  handed  to  the  Queens 
to  sign,   whereon  the  trumpets  blared   out   and  the  Queens' 
guard  grounded  their  spears  with  a  crash  in  salute.     This  read- 
ing and  signing  of  the  laws  took  a  long  time,  but  at  last  it  came 
to  an  end,  the  last  one  reciting  that  '  whereas   certain  distin- 
guished strangers,  &c.,'  and  proceeded  to  confer  on  the  three  of 
us  the  rank  of  '  lords,'  together  with  certain  military  commands 
and  large  estates  bestowed  by  the  Queens.     When  it  was  read 
the  trumpets  blared  and  the  spears  clashed  down  as  usual,  but 
I  saw  some  of  the  lords  turn  and  whisper  to  each  other,  while 
Nasta  ground  his  teeth.     They  did  not  like  the  favour  that  was 


176  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

shown  to  us,  which  under  all  the  circumstances  was  not  per- 
haps unnatural. 

Then  there  came  a  pause,  and  Nasta  stepped  forward  and 
bowing  humbly,  though  with  no  humility  in  his  eye,  craved  a 
boon  at  the  hands  of  the  Queen  Nyleptha. 

Nyleptha  turned  a  little  pale,  but  bowed  graciously,  and 
prayed  the  '  well-beloved  lord '  to  speak  on,  whereon,  in  a  few 
straightforward  soldier-like  words  he  asked  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage. 

Then,  before  she  could  find  words  to  answer,  the  High  Priest 
Agon  took  up  the  tale,  and  in  a  speech  of  real  eloquence  and 
power  pointed  out  the  many  advantages  of  the  proposed  alli- 
ance ;  how  it  would  consolidate  the  kingdom,  for  Nastas domin- 
ions, of  which  he  was  virtually  king,  were  to  Zu-Vendis  much 
what  Scotland  used  to  be  to  England ;  how  it  would  gratify  the 
wild  mountaineers  and  be  popular  among  the  soldiery,  for  Nasta 
was  a  famous  general ;  how  it  would  set  her  dynasty  firmly  on 
the  throne,  and  would  gain  the  blessing  and  approval  of  the 
'  Sun,'  i.e.,  of  the  office  of  the  High  Priest,  and  so  on.     Many 
of  his  arguments  were  undoubtedly  valid,  and  there  was,  look- 
ing at  it  from  a  political  point  of  view,  everything  to  be  said  for 
the  marriage.     But  unfortunately  it  is  difficult  to  play  the  game 
of  politics  with  the   persons   of  young   and   lovely  queens  as 
though  they  were  ivory  effigies  of  themselves  on  a  chessboard. 
Nyleptha's  face,  while  Agon  spouted  away,  was  a  perfect  study ; 
she  smiled  indeed,  but  beneath  the  smile  it  set  like  a  stone,  and 
her  eyes  began  to  flash  ominously. 

At  last  he  stopped,  and  she  prepared  herself  to  answer.  Be- 
fore she  did  so,  however,  Sorais  leant  towards  her  and  said  in  a 
voice  sufficiently  loud  for  me  to  catch  what  she  said,  *  Bethink 
thee  well,  my  sister,  ere  thou  dost  speak,  for  methinks  that  our 
thrones  may  hang  upon  thy  words.' 

Nyleptha  made  no  answer,  and  with  a  shrug  and  a  smile 
Sorais  leant  back  again  and  listened. 

'  Of  a  truth  a  great  honour  has  been  done  to  roe,'  she  said, 
'  that  my  poor  hand  should  not  only  have  been  asked  in  marri- 
age, but  that  Agon  here  should  be  so  swift  to  pronounce  the 
blessing  of  the  Sun  upon  my  union.  Methinks  that  in  another 
minute  he  would  have  wed  us  fast  ere  the  bride  had  said  her 
say.  Nasta,  1  thank  thee,  and  I  will  bethink  me  of  thy  words, 
but  now  as  yet  I  have  no  mind  for  marriage,  that  is  a  cup  of 


Before  the  Statue,  177 

which  none  know  the  taste  until  they  begin  to  drink  it  Again 
I  thank  thee,  Nasta,'  and  she  made  as  though  she  would  rise. 

The  great  lord's  face  turned  almost  as  black  as  his  beard  with 
fury,  for  he  knew  that  the  words  amounted  to  a  final  refusal  of 
his  suit. 

'Thanks  be  to  the  Queen  for  her  gracious  words,'  he  said, 
restraining  himself  with  difficulty  and  looking  anything  but 
grateful,  *  my  heart  shall  surely  treasure  them.  And  now  I 
crave  another  boon,  namely,  the  royal  leave  to  withdraw  myself 
to  my  own  poor  cities  in  the  north  till  such  time  as  the  Queen 
shall  say  my  suit  nay  or  yea.      Mayhap,'  he  added,  with  a  sneer, 

*  the  Queen  will  be  pleased  to  visit  me  there,  and  bring  with 
her  these  stranger  lords,'  and  he  scowled  darkly  towards  us. 

*  It  is  out  a  poor  country  and  a  rough,  but  we  are  a  hardy  race 
of  mountaineers,  and  there  shall  be  gathered  thirty  thousand 
swordmen  to  shout  a  welcome  to  her.' 

This  speech,  which  was  almost  a  declaration  of  rebellion, 
was  received  in  complete  silence,  but  Nyleptha  flushed  up  and 
answered  it  with  spirit 

'  Oh,  surely,  Nasta,  I  will  come,  and  the  strange  lords  in  my 
train,  and  for  every  man  of  thy  mountaineers  who  calls  thee 
Prince,  will  I  bring  two  from  the  lowlands  who  call  me  Queen, 
and  we  will  see  which  is  the  staunchest  breed.  Till  then, 
farewell.' 

The  trumpets  blared  out,  the  Queens  rose,  and  the  great  as- 
sembly broke  up  in  murmuring  confusion,  and  for  myself  I 
went  home  with  a  heavy  heart  foreseeing  civil  war. 

After  this  there  was  quiet  for  a  few  weeks.  Curtis  and  the 
Queen  did  not  often  meet,  and  exercised  the  utmost  caution  not 
to  allow  the  true  relation  in  which  they  stood  to  each  other  to 
leak  out ;  but  do  what  they  would,  rumours  as  hard  to  trace 
as  a  buzzing  fly  in  a  dark  room,  and  yet  quite  as  audible,  be- 
gan to  hum  round  and  round,  and  at  last  to  settle  on  her  throne. 

12 


178  Allan  Quaiermain, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   STORM    BREAKS. 

And  now  it  was  that  the  trouble  which  at  first  had  been  but  a 
cloud  as  large  as  a  man's  hand  began  to  loom  very  black  and 
big  upon  our  horizon,  namely,  Sorais'  preference  for  Sir  Henry. 
I  saw  the  storm  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  and  so,  poor  fellow, 
did  he.  The  affection  of  so  lovely  and  highly-placed  a  woman 
was  not  a  thing  that  could  in  a  general  way  be  considered  a 
calamity  by  any  m.an,  but,  situated  as  Curtis  was,  it  was  a 
grievous  burden  to  bear. 

To  begin  with,  Nyleptha,  though  altogether  charming,  was,  it 
must  be  admitted,    of  a   rather  jealous  disposition,  and  was 
somewhat  apt  to  visit  on  her  lover's  head  her  indignation  at  the 
marks  of  what  Alphonse  would  have  called  the  '  distinguished 
consideration '  with  which  her  royal  sister  favoured  him.    Then 
the   enforced  secrecy  of  his   relation  to  Nyleptha  prevented 
Curtis  from  taking  some  opportunity  of  putting  a  stop,  or  trying 
to  put  a  stop,  to  this  false  condition  of  affairs,  by  telling  Sorais, 
in  a  casual  but  confidential  way,  that  he  was  going  to  vazxry  her 
sister.     A  third  sting  in  Sir  Henr}''s  honey  was  that  he  knew 
Good  was  honestly  and  sincerely  attached  to  the  ominous-look- 
ing but  most  attractive  Lady  of  the  Night.    Indeed,  poor  Boug- 
wan  was  wasting  himself  to  a  shadow  of  his  fat  and  jolly  self 
about  her,  his  face  getting  so   thin   that   his  eyeglass   would 
scarcely  stick  in  it :  while  she,  with  a  sort  of  careless  coquetry, 
just  gave  him  encouragement  enough  to  keep  him  going,  think- 
ing, no  doubt  that  he  might  be  useful  as  a  stalking-horse.     I 
tried  to  give  him  a  hint,  in  as  delicate  a  way  as  I  could,  but  he 
flew  into  a  huff  and  would  not  listen  to  me,  so  I  determined  to 
let  ill  alone,  for  fear  of  making  it  worse.     Poor  Good,  he  really 
was  very  ludicrous  in  his  distress  and  went  in  for  all  sorts  of 
absurdities  under  the  belief  that   he   was  advancing   his   suit. 
One  of  them  was  the  writing — with  the  assistance  of  one  of  the 
grave  and  reverend  signiors  wno  mstructed  us,  and  who,  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  measure  of  his  erudition,  did  not  un- 
derstand how  to  scan  a  line — of  a  most  interminable  Zu-Vendi 
love  song,  of  which  the  continually  recurring  refrain  was  some- 


The  Storm  Breaks,  179 

thing  about  *  I  will  kiss  thee ;  oh  yes,  I  vrill  kiss  thee  ! '  Now 
among  the  Zu-Vendi  it  is  a  common  and  most  harmless  thing 
for  young  men  to  serenade  ladies  at  night,  as  I  believe  thev  do 
m  the  southern  countries  of  Europe,  and  sing  all  sorts  of  non- 
sensical songs  to  them.  The  young  man  may  or  may  not  be 
serious ;  but  no  offence  is  meant  and  none  is  taken,  even  by 
ladies  of  the  highest  rank,  who  accept  the  whole  thing  as  an 
English  girl  would  a  gracefully-turned  compliment. 

Availing  himself  of  this  custom,  Good  bethought  him  that 
he  would  serenade  Sorais,  whose  private  apartments,  together 
with  those  of  her  maidens,  were  exactly  opposite  our  own,  on 
the  further  side  of  a  narrow  court}'ard  which  di\aded  one  sec- 
tion of  the  great  palace  from  another.  Accordingly,  having 
armed  himself  with  a  native  zither,  on  which,  being  an  adept 
with  the  hght  guitar,  he  had  easily  learned  to  strum,  he  pro- 
ceeded at  midnight  —  the  fashionable  hour  for  this  sort  of 
caterwauling,  to  make  night  hideous  with  his  amorous  yells.  I 
was  fast  asleep  when  they  began,  but  they  soon  woke  me  up — 
for  Good  possesses  a  tremendous  voice  and  has  no  notion  of 
time — and  I  ran  to  my  window-place  to  see  what  was  the 
matter.  And  there,  standing  in  the  full  moonlight  in  the  court- 
yard, I  perceived  Good,  adorned  with  an  enormous  ostrich 
feather  headdress  and  a  flowing  silken  cloak,  which  it  is  the 
right  thing  to  wear  upon  these  occasions,  and  shouting  out 
the  abominable  song  which  he  and  the  old  gentleman  had 
evolved,  to  a  jerky,  jingling  accompaniment.  From  the  direc- 
tion of  the  quarters  of  the  maids  of  honour  came  a  succession 
of  faint  sniggerings ;  but  the  apartments  of  Sorais  herself— 
whom  I  devoutly  pitied  if  she  happened  to  be  there — were 
silent  as  the  grave.  There  was  absolutely  no  end  to  that  awful 
song,  with  its  eternal  *  I  will  kiss  thee  ! '  and  at  last  neither  I 
nor  Sir  Henry,  whom  I  had  summoned  to  enjoy  the  sight, 
could  stand  it  any  longer ;  so,  remembering  the  dear  old  stor}% 
I  put  my  head  to  the  window  opening,  and  shouted,  '  For 
Heaven's  sake.  Good,  don't  go  on  talking  about  it,  but  kiss  her 
and  let's  all  go  to  sleep ! '  That  choked  him  off,  and  we  had 
no  more  serenading. 

The  whole  thing  formed  a  laughable  incident  in  a  tragic 
business.  How  deeply  thankful  we  ought  to  be  that  even  the 
most  serious  matters  have  generally  a  silver  Hning  about  them 
in  the  shape  of  a  joke,  if  only  people  could  see  it  The 
iense  of  humour  is   a  very  valuable  possession   in  life,  and 


i8o  Allan  Quatermain, 

ought  to   be   cultivated  in   the   Board  schools— especially  in 
Scotland. 

Well,  the  more  Sir  Henry  held  ofif  the  more  Sorais  came 
on,  as  is  not  uncommon  in  such  cases,  till  at  last  things  got 
very  queer  indeed.     Evidently  she  was,  by  some  strange  per- 
versity of  mind,  quite  blinded  to  the  true  state  of  the  case ; 
and  I,  for  one,  greatly  dreaded  the  moment  of  her  awakening. 
Sorais  was  a  dangerous  woman  to  be  mixed  up  with,  either 
with  or  without  one's  own  consent.     At  last  the  evil  moment 
came,  as  I  saw  it  must  come.     One  fine  day,   Good  having 
gone  out  hawking,  Sir  Henry  and  I  were  sitting  quietly  talking 
over  the  situation,  especially  with  reference  to  Sorais,  when  a 
Court  messenger  arrived  with  a  WTitten  note,  which  we  with 
some  difficulty  deciphered,  and  which  was  to  the  effect  that 
'  the  Queen  Sorais  commanded  the  attendance  of  the  Lord 
Incubu  in  her  private  apartments,  whither  he  would  be  con- 
ducted by  the  bearer.' 

'  Oh  my  word  ! '  groaned  Sir  Henry.  *  Can't  you  go,  instead, 
old  fellow?' 

'  Not  if  I  know  it,'  I  said  with  vigour.  *  I  had  rather  face 
a  wounded  elephant  with  a  shot-gun.  Wash  up  your  own 
dirty  dishes,  my  boy.  If  you  will  be  so  fascinating  you  must 
take  the  consequences.  Ain't  you  just  in  for  it  now,  that's 
all!' 

*  You  remind  me  of  when  I  was  going  to  be  flogged  at  school 
and  the  other  boys  came  to  console  me,'  he  said  gloomily. 
*  What  right  has  this  confounded  Queen  to  command  my  at- 
tendance, I  should  like  to  know  ?     1  won't  go.' 

*  But  you  must  ;  you  are  one  of  her  officers  and  bound  to 
obey  her,  and  she  knows  it.  And,  after  all,  it  will  soon  be 
over.' 

'  That's  just  what  they  used  to  say,'  he  said  again.  *  I  only 
hope  she  won't  put  a  knife  into  me.  I  believe  that  she  is  quite 
capable  of  it.'  And  ofif  he  started  very  faintheartedly,  and  no 
wonder. 

I  sat  and  waited,  and  at  the  end  of  about  fort}'-five  minutes 
he  returned,  looking  a  great  deal  worse  than  when  he  went. 

*  Give  me  something  to  drink,'  he  said  hoarsely. 

I  got  him  a  cup  of  wine,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter. 

*  What  is  the  matter  ?  Why  if  ever  there  was  trouble  there's 
trouble  now.  You  know  when  I  left  you  ?  Well,  I  was  shown 
straight  into  Sorais'  private  chamber,  and  a  wonderful  place  it 


The  Storm  Breaks.  i8i 

is ;  and  there  she  sat,  quite  alone,  upon  a  silken  couch  at  the 
end  of  the  room,  playing  gently  upon  that  zither  of  hers.  I 
stood  before  her,  and  for  a  while  she  took  no  notice  of  me,  but 
kept  on  playing  and  singing  a  Httle,  and  very  sweet  music  it 
was.     At  last  she  looked  up  and  smiled. 

'  "  So  thou  art  come,"  she  said.  "  I  thought  that  perchance 
thou  hadst  gone  about  the  Queen  Nyleptha's  business.  Thou 
art  ever  on  her  business,  and  I  doubt  not  a  good  servant  and 
a  true." 

'  To  this  I  merely  bowed,  and  said  I  was  there  to  receive  the 
Queen's  word. 

*  "  Ah  yes,  I  would  talk  with  thee,  but  be  thou  seated.  I 
cannot  lift  my  neck  so  high,"  and  she  made  room  for  me  beside 
her  on  the  couch,  placing  herself  with  her  back  against  the  end, 
so  as  to  have  a  view  of  my  face. 

*  "  It  is  not  meet,"  I  said,  "  that  I  should  make  myself 
equal  with  the  Queen." 

*  "  I  said  be  seated,"  was  her  answer,  so  I  sat  down,  and  she 
set  to  work  to  look  at  me  with  those  dark  eyes  of  hers.  There 
she  sat  like  an  incarnate  spirit  of  beauty,  hardly  talking  at  all, 
and  when  she  did,  very  low,  but  all  the  while  looking  at  me. 
There  was  a  white  flower  in  her  black  hair,  and  I  tried  to  keep 
my  eyes  on  it,  and  count  the  petals,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  At 
last,  whether  it  was  her  gaze,  on  the  perfume  on  her  hair,  or 
what  I  do  not  know,  but  I  begjan  to  feel  as  though  I  was  being 
mesmerised.     At  last  she  roused  herself. 

*  *'  Incubu,"  she  said,  "  lovest  thou  power  ?  " 

*  I  replied  that  I  supposed  that  all  men  loved  power  of  one 
sort  or  another. 

'  "  Thou  shalt  have  it,"  she  said,     "  Lovest  thou  wealth  ?  " 

*  I  said  I  liked  wealth  for  what  it  brought 

*  "  Thou  shalt  have  it,"  she  said.     "And  lovest  thou  beauty  ?  " 

*  To  this  I  replied  that  I  was  very  fond  of  statuary  and  archi- 
tecture, or  something  of  that  sort,  at  which  she  frowned,  and 
there  was  a  pause.  By  this  time  my  nerves  were  on  such  a 
stretch  that  I  was  shaking  like  a  leaf.  I  knew  that  something 
awful  was  going  to  happen,  but  she  held  me  under  a  kind  of 
spell,  and  1  could  not  help  myself. 

'  "  Incubu,''  she  said  at  length,  "  wouldst  thou  be  a  king? 
Listen,  wouldst  thou  be  a  king?  Behold,  stranger,  1  am  mind- 
ed to  make  thee  king  of  all  Zu-Vendisay  and  husband  of  Sorais 
of  the  Night.    Nay,  peace,  and  hear  me.     To  no  man  among 


iSa  Allan  Quatermain. 

my  people  had  I  thus  opened  out  my  secret  heart,  but  thou 
art  an  outlander  and  therefore  do  I  speak  without  shame, 
knovring  all  I  have  to  offer  and  how  hard  it  had  been  to  thee 
to  ask.  See,  a  crown  lies  at  thy  feet,  my  lord  Incubu,  and  with 
that  fortune  a  woman  whom  some  have  wished  to  woo.  Now 
may  St  thou  answer." 

'  "  Oh,  Sorais,"  I  said,  "  pray  do  not  speak  thus  " — you  see  I 
had  r.ot  time  to  pick  and  choose  my  words — "  because  you  are 
putting  us  both  in  an  awkward  position.  I  am  going  to  marry 
your  sister  Nyleptha,  Sorais,  and  I  love  her." 

*  Next  moment  it  struck  me  that  I  had  said  an  awful  thing, 
and  I  looked  up  to  see  the  results.  When  I  spoke  Sorais'  face 
was  hidden  in  her  hands,  and  as  my  words  reached  her  she 
slowly  raised  it,  and  I  shrank  back  dismayed.  It  was  ashy 
white,  and  her  eyes  were  flaming.  She  got  on  to  her  feet  and 
seemed  to  be  choking,  but  the  awful  thing  was  that  she  was  so 
quiet  about  it  all.  Once  she  looked  at  a  side  table,  on  which 
lay  a  dagger,  and  from  it  to  me,  as  though  she  thought  of  kill- 
ing me  ;  but  she  did  not  take  it  up.  At  last  she  spoke  one 
word,  and  one  only  : 
*"6^^/" 

*  And  I  went,  and  glad  enough  I  was  to  get  out  of  it,  and 
here  I  am.  Give  me  another  cup  of  wine,  there's  a  good 
fellow,  and  tell  me,  what  is  to  be  done  ? ' 

I  shook  my  head,  for  the  affair  was  indeed  serious.  As  one 
of  the  poets  says, 

•  Hell  hath  no  fury  like  a  woman  scorned,' 

more  especially  if  the  woman  is  a  queen  and  a  Sorais,  and  in- 
deed I  feared  the  very  worst,  including  imminent  danger  to 
ourselves. 

'  Nyleptha  must  be  told  of  all  this  at  once,'  I  said,  *  and 
perhaps  I  had  better  tell  her ;  she  might  receive  your  account 
with  suspicion.' 

'  Who  is  captain  of  her  guard  to-night  ? ' 

'Good.' 

'  Ver)'  well  then,  there  will  be  no  chance  of  her  being  got  at. 
Don't  look  surprised.  I  don't  think  that  her  sister  would 
stick  at  that.  I  suppose  one  must  tell  Good  of  what  has 
happened.' 

*0h,   I  don't  know,' said  Sir  Henry.    'It  would   hurt  his 


The  Storm  Breaks,  183 

feelings,  poor  fellow  !     You  see,  he  takes  a  lively  personal  in- 
terest in  Sorais.* 

'  That's  true  ;  and  after  all,  perhaps  there  is  no  need  to  tell 
him.  He  will  find  out  the  truth  soon  enough.  Now,  you 
mark  my  words,  Sorais  will  throw  in  her  lot  with  Nasta,  who 
is  sulking  up  in  the  North  there,  and  there  will  be  such  a  war 
as  has  not  been  known  in  Zu-Vendis  for  centuries.  Look 
there  1 '  and  I  pointed  to  two  Court  messengers,  who  were 
speeding  away  from  the  door  of  Sorais's  private  apartments. 
'  Now  follow  me,'  and  I  ran  up  a  stairway  into  an  outlook 
tower  that  rose  from  the  roof  of  our  quarters,  taking  the  spy- 
glass with  me,  and  looked  out  over  the  palace  wall.  The 
first  thing  we  saw  was  one  of  the  messengers  speeding  towards 
the  Temple,  bearing,  without  any  doubt,  the  Queen's  word  to 
the  High  Priest  Agon,  but  for  the  other  I  searched  in  vain. 
Presently,  however,  I  spied  a  horseman  riding  furiously  through 
the  northern  gate  of  the  city,  and  in  him  I  recognised  the  other 
messenger. 

'  Ah  !  '  I  said,  '  Sorais  is  a  woman  of  spirit.  She  is  acting 
at  once,  and  will  strike  quick  and  hard.  You  have  insulted 
her,  my  boy,  and  the  blood  will  flow  in  rivers  before  the  stain 
is  washed  away,  and  yours  with  it,  if  she  can  get  hold  of  you. 
Well,  I'm  off  to  Nyleptha.  Just  you  stop  where  you  are,  old 
fellow,  and  try  to  get  your  nerves  straight  again.  You'll  need 
them  all,  I  can  tell  you,  unless  I  have  observed  human  nature 
in  the  rough  for  fifty  years  for  nothing.'  And  off  I  went  ac- 
cordingly. 

I  gained  audience  of  the  Queen  without  trouble.  She  was 
expecting  Curtis,  and  was  not  best  pleased  to  see  my  mahogany- 
coloured  face  instead. 

'  Is  there  aught  wrong  with  my  Lord,  Macumazahn,  that  he 
waits  not  upon  me  ?     Say,  is  he  sick  ? ' 

I  said  that  he  was  well  enough,  and  then,  without  further 
ado  I  plunged  into  my  story  and  told  it  from  beginning  to  end. 
Oh,  w^hat  a  rage  she  flew  into  !  It  was  a  sight  to  see  her,  she 
looked  so  lovely. 

*  How  darest  thou  come  to  me  with  such  a  tale  ? '  she  cried. 
*  It  is  a  lie  to  say  that  my  Lord  was  making  love  to  Sorais,  my 
sister.' 

'  Pardon  me,  oh  Queen,'  I  answered,  *  I  said  that  Sorais  was 
making  love  to  your  lord.' 


184  Allan  Quatermain, 

*  Spin  me  no  spiders'  webs  of  words.  Is  not  the  thing  the 
same  thing  ?  The  one  giveth,  the  other  taketh ;  but  the  gift 
passes,  and  what  matters  it  which  is  the  most  guilty  ?  Sorais  ! 
oh,  I  hate  her — Sorais  is  a  queen  and  my  sister.  She  had 
not  stooped  so  low  had  he  not  shown  the  way.  Oh,  truly  hath 
the  poet  said  that  man  is  like  a  snake,  whom  to  touch  is  poison, 
and  whom  none  can  hold.' 

'  The  remark,  oh  Queen,  is  excellent,  but  methinks  thou 
hast  misread  the  poet  Nyleptha,'  I  went  on,  '  thou  knowest 
well  that  thy  words  are  empty  foolishness,  that  this  is  no  time 
for  folly.' 

'  How  darest  thou,'  she  broke  in,  stamping  her  foot.  *  Has 
my  false  lord  sent  thee  to  me  to  insult  me  also  ?  Who  art 
thou,  stranger,  that  thou  shouldst  speak  to  me,  the  Queen,  after 
this  sort  ?     How  darest  thou  ? ' 

*Yea,   I   dare.     Listen.      The  moments   which   thou  dost 
waste  in  idle  anger  may  well  cost  thee  thy  crown  and  all  of  us 
our  lives.     Already  Sorais"  horsemen  go  forth  and  call  to  arms. 
In  three  days'  time  Nasta  will  rouse  himself  in  his  fastnesses 
like  a  lion   in   the   evening,   and  his  growling  will  be  heard 
throughout  the  north.     The  "  Lady  of  the  Night "  (Sorais)  hath 
a  sweet  voice,  and  she  will  not  sing  in  vain.     Her  bshiner  will 
be  borne  from  range  to  range  and  valley  to  valley,  and  warriors 
will  spring  up  in  its  track  like   dust   beneath  a  whirlwind  ;  hall 
the  army  will  echo  her  war-cry  ;  and  in  every  town  and  hamlet 
of  this  wide  land  the  priests  will   call  out  against  the  foreigner 
and  will  preach  her  cause  as  holy.     I  have  spoken,  oh  Queen  ! ' 
Nyleptha  was  quite  calm  now  ;  her  jealous  anger  had  passed; 
and  putting  off  the  character  of  a   lovely   headstrong  lady  she, 
with  a  rapidity  and  completeness  that  distinguished  her,  put  on 
that  of  a  queen  and  a  woman  of  business.     The  transforma- 
tion was  sudden  but  entire. 

'  Thy  words  are  very  wise,  Macumazahn.  Forgive  me  my 
folly.  Ah,  what  a  Queen  I  should  be  if  only  I  had  no  heart !  To 
be  heartless — that  is  to  conquer  all.  Passion  is  like  the  light- 
ning, it  is  beautiful,  and  it  links  the  earth  to  heaven,  but  alas,  it 
blinds  1 

'  And  thou  thinkest  that  my  sister  Sorais  would  levy  war  upon 
me.  So  be  it.  She  shall  not  prevail  against  me.  I,  too,  have 
my  friends  and  my  retainers.  There  are  many,  I  say,  who  will 
shout  "  Nyleptha  ! "  when  my  pennon  runs  up  on  peak  and 
pinnacle,  and  the  light  of  my  watch  fires  leaps  to-night  from 


Tlie  Sturm  Breaks,  185 

crag  to  crag,  bearing  the  message  of  my  war.  I  will  break  her 
strength  and  scatter  her  armies.  Eternal  night  shall  be  the 
portion  of  the  "  Lady  of  the  Night."  Give  me  that  parchment 
and  that  ink.  So.  Now  summon  me  the  ofl5cer  in  the  ante- 
room.    He  is  a  trusty  man.' 

I  did  as  I  was  bid  !  and  the  man,  a  veteran  and  quiet-look- 
ing gentleman  of  the  guard,  named  Kara,  entered,  bowing  low, 

'  Take  this  parchment,'  said  Nyleptha  ;  *  it  is  thy  warrant ; 
and  guard  every  place  of  in  and  outgomg  in  the  apartments  of 
my  sister  Sorais,  "  Lady  of  the  Night,"  and  a  Queen  of  the 
Zu-Vendi.  Let  none  come  in  and  none  go  out,  or  thy  hfe  shall 
pay  the  cost.' 

The  man  looked  startled,  but  he  merely  said,  *  The  Queen's 
word  shall  be  done,'  and  departed.  Then  Nyleptha  sent  a 
message  to  Sir  Henry,  and  presently  he  arrived  looking  uncom- 
monly uncomfortable.  I  thought  that  another  outburst  was 
about  to  follow,  but  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  women ;  she 
said  not  a  word  about  Sorais  and  his  supposed  inconsistency, 
greeting  him  with  a  friendly  nod,  and  stating  simply  that  she 
required  his  advice  upon  high  matters.  All  the  same  there  was 
a  look  in  her  eye,  and  a  sort  of  suppressed  energy  in  her  man- 
ner towards  him,  that  makes  me  think  that  she  had  not  forgot- 
ten the  affair,  but  was  keeping  it  for  a  private  occasion. 

Just  after  Curtis  arrived  the  officer  returned,  and  reported 
that  Sorais  was  gone.  The  bird  had  flown  to  the  Temple,  stat- 
ing that  she  was  going,  as  was  sometimes  the  custom  among 
Zu-Vendi  ladies  of  rank,  to  spend  the  night  in  meditation  be- 
fore the  altar.  We  looked  at  each  other  significantly.  The  blow 
had  fallen  very  soon. 

Then  we  set  to  work. 

Generals  who  could  be  trusted  were  summoned  from  their 
quarters,  and  as  much  of  the  State  affairs  as  was  thought  de- 
sirable was  told  to  each,  strict  injunctions  being  given  to  them 
to  get  all  their  available  force  together.  The  same  was  done 
with  such  of  the  more  powerful  lords  as  Nyleptha  knew  she 
could  rely  on,  several  of  whom  left  that  very  day  for  distant 
parts  of  the  country  to  gather  up  their  tribesmen  and  retainers. 
Sealed  orders  were  despatched  to  the  rulers  of  far-oflf  cities, 
and  some  twenty  messengers  were  sent  off  before  nightfall 
with  instructions  to  ride  early  and  late  till  they  reached  the 
distant  chiefs  to  whom  their  letters  were  addressed  ;  also  many 
spies  were  set  to  work.  All  the  afternoon  and  evening  we 
L 


1 86  Allan  QuaUnnain, 

laboured,  assisted  by  some  confidential  scribes,  Nyleptha  show- 
ing an  energy  and  resource  of  mind  that  astonished  me,  and  it 
was  eight  o'clock  before  we  got  back  to  our  quarters.     Here 
we  heard  from  Alphonse,  who  was  deeply  aggrieved  because 
our  non-return  had  spoilt  his  dinner  (for  he  had  turned  cook 
again    now),    that   Gk)od  had   come  back   from   his   hawking 
and  gone  on  duty.     As  instructions  had  already  been  given  to 
the  officer  of  the  outer  guard  to  double  the  sentries  at  the  gate, 
and  as  we  had  no  reason  to  fear  any  immediate  danger,  we  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  hunt  him  up  and  tell  him  anything 
of  what  had  passed,  which  at  best  was,  under  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  one  of  those  tasks  one  prefers  to  post- 
pone, so  after  swallowing  our  food  we  turned  in  to  get  some 
much-needed  rest.     Before  we  did  so,  however,  it  occurred  to 
Curtis   to   tell  old  Umslopogaas   to   keep   a  look-out   in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Nyleptha's  private  apartments.  Umslopogaas 
was  now  well  known  about  the  place,  and  by  the  Queen's  order 
allowed  to  pass  whither  he  would  by  the  guards,  a  permission 
of  which  he  often  availed  himself  by  roaming  about  the  palace 
during  the  still  hours  in  a  nocturnal  fashion  that  he  favoured, 
and  which  is  by  no  means  uncommon  amongst  black  men  gen- 
erally.    His  presence  in  the  corridors  would  not,  therefore,  be 
likely  to  excite  remark.     Without  any  comment  the  Zulu  took 
up  his  axe  and  departed,  and  we  also  departed  to  bed. 

I  seemed  to  have  been  asleep  but  a  few  minutes  when  I  was 
awakened  by  a  peculiar  sensation  of  uneasiness.  I  felt  that 
somebody  was  in  the  room  and  looking  at  me,  and  instantly 
sat  up,  to  see  to  my  surprise  that  it  was  already  dawn,  and  that 
there,  standing  at  the  foot  of  my  couch  and  looking  peculiarly 
grim  and  gaunt  in  the  grey  light,  was  Umslopogaas  himself. 

*  How  long  hast  thou  been  there  ? '  I  asked  testily,  for  it  is 
not  pleasant  to  be  aroused  in  such  a  fashion. 

'  Mayhap  the  half  of  an  hour,  Macuraazahn.  I  have  a  word 
fur  thee.' 
'  Speak  on,'  I  said,  now  wide  enough  awake. 
'  As  I  was  bid  I  went  last  night  to  the  place  of  the  White 
Queen  and  hid  myself  behind  a  pillar  in  the  second  anteroom, 
beyond  which  is  the  sleeping-place  of  the  Queen.  Bougwan 
((rood)  was  in  the  first  anteroom  alone,  and  outside  the  curtain 
of  that  room  was  a  sentry,  but  I  had  a  mind  to  see  if  I  could 
pass  in  unseen,  and  I  did,  gliding  behind  them  both.  There 
I  waited   for  many  hours,  when   suddenly  I  perceived  a  dark 


The  Storm  Breaks^  187 

figure  coming  secretly  towards  me.  It  was  the  figure  of  a 
woman,  and  in  her  hand  she  held  a  dagger.  Behind  that 
figure  crept  another  unseen  by  the  woman.  It  was  Bougwan 
following  in  her  tracks.  His  shoes  were  off,  and  for  so  fat  a 
man  he  followed  very  well.  The  woman  passed  me,  and  the 
starlight  shone  upon  her  face.' 

'  Who  was  it  ? '  I  asked  impatiently. 

*  The  face  was  the  face  of  the  "  Lady  of  the  Night,"  and  of 
a  truth  she  is  well  named. 

'  I  waited,  and  Bougwan  passed  me  also.     Then  I  followed. 
So  we  went  slowly  and  without  a  sound  up  the  long  chamber. 
First  the  woman,  then  Bougwan,  and  then  I ;  and  the  woman 
saw  not   Bougwan,   and  Bougwan  saw  not  me.     At  last  the 
"  Lady  of  the  Night "  came  to  the  curtains  that  shut  off  the 
sleeping  place  of  the  White  Queen,  and  put  out  her  left  hand 
to  part  them.     She  passed  through,  and  so  did  Bougwan,  and 
so  did  I.     At  the  far  end  of  the  room  is  the  bed  of  the  Queen, 
and  on  it  she  lay  very  fast  asleep.     I  could  hear  her  breathe, 
and  see  one  white  arm  lying  on  the  coverlid  like  a  streak  of 
snow  on  the  dry  grass.     "  The  Lady  of  the  Night  "  doubled 
herself  thus,  and  with  the  long  knife  hfted  crept  towards  the 
bed.     Se  straight  did  she  gaze  thereat  that  she  never  thought 
to   look   behind   her.     When  she   was  quite   close  Bougwan 
touched  her  on  the  arm,  and  she  caught  her  breath  and  turned, 
and  I  saw  the  knife  flash,  and  heard  it  strike.     Well  was  it  for 
Bougwan  that  he  had  the  skin  of  iron  on  him,  or  he  had  been 
pierced.     Then  for  the  first  time  he  saw  who  the  woman  was, 
and  without  a  word  he  fell  back  astonished,  and  unable   to 
speak.     She,  too,  was  astonished,  and  spoke  not,  but  suddenly 
she  laid  her  finger  on  her  hp,  thus,  and  walked  towards  and 
through  the  curtain,  and  with  her  went  Bougwan.    So  close  did 
she  pass  to  me  that  her  dress  touched  me,  and  I  was  nigh  to 
slaying  her  as  she  went.     In  the  first  outer  room  she  spoke  to 
Bougwan  in  a  whisper  and,  clasping  her  hands  thus,  she  pleaded 
with  him,  but  what  she  said  I  know  not.     And  so  they  passed 
on  to  the  second  outer  room,  she  pleading  and  he  shaking  his 
head,  and  saying,    "  Nay,   nay,  nay."     And  it  seemed  to  me 
that  he  was  about  to  call  the  guard,  when  she  stopped  talking 
and  looked  at  him  with  great  eyes,  and  I  saw  that  he  was  be- 
witched by  her  beauty.     Then  she  stretched  out  her  hand  and 
he  kissed   it,   whereon   I  gathered  myself  together  to  advance 
and  take  her,  seeing  that  now  had  Bougwan  become  a  woman, 


1 88  Allan  Quatermain, 

and  no  longer  knew  the  good  from  the  evil,  when  behold  I  she 

was  gone.' 

*  Gone  ! '  I  ejaculated. 

*  Ay,  gone,  and  there  stood  Bougwan  staring  at  the  wall  like 
one  asleep,  and  presently  he  went  too,  and  I  waited  a  while  and 
came  away  also.' 

*  Art  thou  sure,  Umslopogaas,'  said  I,  *  that  thou  hast  not 
been  a  dreamer  this  night  ? ' 

In  reply  he  opened  his  left  hand,  and  produced  about  three 
inches  of  the  blade  of  a  dagger  of  the  finest  steel.  '  If  I  be, 
Macumazahn,  behold  what  the  dream  left  with  me.  The  knife 
broke  upon  Bougwan's  bosom,  and  as  I  passed  I  picked  this 
up  in  the  sleeping-place  of  the  White  Queen.' 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 
war!  red  war. 


Telling  Umslopogaas  to  wait  I  tumbled  into  my  clothes  and 
went  off  with  him  to  Sir  Henry's  room,  where  the  Zulu  repeated 
the  story  word  for  word.  It  was  a  sight  to  watch  Curtis's  face 
as  he  heard  it. 

*  Great  Heavens  ! '  he  said  :  '  here  have  I  been  snoring  away 
while  Nyleptha  was  nearly  murdered — and  all  through  me,  too. 
What  a  fiend  that  Sorais  must  be  !  It  would  have  served  her 
well  if  Umslopogaas  had  cui  her  down  in  the  act.' 

*  Ay,*  said  the  Zulu.  '  Fear  not ;  I  should  have  slain  her  ere 
she  struck.     I  was  bit  waiting  the  moment.' 

I  said  nothing ;  but  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  many  a 
thousand  doomed  lives  would  have  been  saved  if  he  had  meted 
out  to  Sorais  the  fate  she  meant  for  her  sister.  And,  as  the 
issue  proved,  I  was  right. 

After  he  had  told  his  tale  Umslopogaas  went  oflf  uncon- 
cernedly to  get  his  morning  meal,  and  Sir  Henry  and  I  fell 
to  talking. 

At  first  he  was  very  bitter  against  Good,  who,  he  said,  was 
no  longer  to  be  trusted,  having  designedly  allowed  Sorais  to 
escape  by  some  secret  stair  when  it  was  his  duty  to  have  handed 


War!  Red  War.  1 89 

her  over  to  justice.  InJeed,  he  spoke  in  the  most  unmeasured 
terms  on  the  matter.  I  let  him  run  on  awhile,  reflecting  to 
myself  how  easy  it  we  find  it  to  be  hard  on  the  weaknesses  of 
others,  and  how  tender  we  are  to  our  own. 

'  Really,  my  dear  fellow,'  I  said  at  length,  '  one  would  never 
think,  to  hear  you  talk,  that  you  were  the  man  who  had  an  in- 
terview w*ith  this  same  lady  yesterday,  and  found  it  rather  diffi- 
cult to  resist  her  fascinations,  notwithstanding  your  ties  to  one 
of  the  loveliest  and  most  loving  women  in  the  whole  world. 
Now,  suppose  that  it  was  Nyleptha  who  had  tried  to  murder 
Sorais,  and  you  had  caught  her,  and  she  had  pleaded  with  you^ 
would  you  have  been  so  very  eager  to  hand  her  over  to  an  open 
shame,  and  to  death  by  fire  ?  Just  look  at  the  matter  through 
Good's  eye-glass  for  a  minute  before  you  denounce  an  old 
friend  as  a  scoundrel.' 

He  listened  to  this  jobation  submissively,  and  then  frankly 
acknowledged  that  he  had  spoken  hardly.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  points  in  Sir  Henry's  character  that  he  is  always  ready  to 
admit  it  when  he  is  in  the  ^vrong. 

But,  though  I  spoke  up  thus  for  Good,  I  was  not  blind  to  the 
fact  that,  however  natural  his  behaviour  might  be,  it  was 
obvious  that  he  was  being  involved  in  a  very  awkward  and  dis- 
graceful complication.  A  foul  and  wicked  murder  had  been 
attempted,  and  he  had  let  the  murderess  escape,  and  thereby, 
among  other  things,  allowed  her  to  gain  a  complete  ascendency 
over  himself.  In  fact,  he  was  in  a  fair  way  to  become  her 
tool — and  no  more  dreadful  fate  can  befall  a  man  than  to  be- 
come the  tool  of  an  unscrupulous  woman,  or  indeed  of  any  wo- 
man. There  is  but  one  end  to  it :  when  he  is  broken,  or  has 
ser\'ed  her  purpose,  he  is  thrown  away — turned  out  on  the  world 
to  hunt  for  his  lost  self-respect.  Whilst  I  was  pondering  thus, 
and  wondering  what  was  to  be  done — for  the  whole  subject  was 
a  thorny  one — I  suddenly  heard  a  great  clamour  in  the  court- 
yard outside,  and  distinguished  the  voices  of  Umslopogaas  and 
Alphonse,  the  former  cursing  furiously,  and  the  latter  yelling 
in  terror. 

Hurrying  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  I  was  met  by  a 
ludicrous  sight.  The  httle  Frenchman  was  running  up  the 
courtyard  at  an  extraordinary  speed,  and  after  him  sped  Um- 
slopogaas Hke  a  great  greyhound.  Just  as  I  came  out  he  caught 
him,  and,  lifting  him  right  off  his  legs,  carried  him  some  paces 
to  a  beautiful  but  very   dense  flowering  shrub   which   bore   a 


1 90  Allan  Quatermaitu 

flower  not  unlike  the  gardenia,  but  was  covered  with  short 
thorns.  Next,  despite  his  howls  and  struggles,  he  with  one 
mighty  thrust  plunged  poor  Alphonse  head  first  into  the 
bush,  so  that  nothing  but  the  calves  of  his  legs  and  his  heels 
remained  in  evidence.  Then,  satisfied  with  what  he  had 
done,  the  Zulu  folded  his  arms  and  stood  grimly  contemplating 
the  Frenchman's  kicks,  and  listening  to  his  yells,  which  were 
awful. 

'  What  art  thou  doing  ?  '  I  said,  running  up.  *  Wouldst  thou 
kill  the  man  ?     Pull  him  out  of  the  bush  ! ' 

With  a  savage  grunt  he  obeyed,  seizing  the  wretched  Al- 
phonse by  the  ankle,  and  with  a  jerk  that  must  have  nearly 
dislucated  it,  tearing  him  out  of  the  heart  of  the  shrub.  Never 
did  I  see  such  a  sight  as  he  presented,  his  clothes  half  torn 
off  his  back,  and  bleeding  as  he  was  in  every  direction  from  the 
sharp  thorns.  There  he  lay  and  yelled  and  rolled,  and  there 
was  no  getting  anything  out  of  him. 

At  last,  however,  he  got  up,  and,  ensconcing  hip^self  behind 
me,  cursed  old  Umslopogaas  by  every  saint  in  the  calendar, 
vowing  by  the  blood  of  his  heroic  grandfather  that  he  would 
poison  him,  and  '  have  his  revenge.' 

At  last  I  got  to  the  truth  of  the  matter.    It  appear<»d  that  Al- 
phonse habitually  cooked  Umslopogaas's  porridge,  which  the 
latter  ate  for  breakfast  in  the  corner  of  the  court)^ari  just  as  he 
would  have  done  at  home  in  Zululand,  from  a  gourd,  and  with 
a  wooden  spoon.     Now  Umslopogaas  had,  like  many  Zulus,  a 
great  horror  of  fish,    which  he  considered  a   species  of  water- 
snake  ;  so  Alphonse,  who  was  as  fond  of  playing  tricV-s  as  a 
monkey,  and  who  was  also  a  consummate  cook,  determined  to 
make  him  eat  some.     Accordingly  he  grated  up  a  quantity  of 
white  fish  very  finely,  and  mixed  it  with  the  Zulu's  porridge, 
who  swallowed  it  nearly  all  down  in  ignorance  of  what  he  was 
eating.     But,  unfortunately  for  Alphonse,  he  could  not  restrain 
his  joy  at  the  sight,  and  came  capering  and  peering  round,  till 
at  last  Umslopogaas,  who  was  very  clever  in  his  way,  suspected 
something,  and,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  remains  of 
his  porridge,  discovered  '  the  buffalo  heifer's  trick,'  and,  in  re- 
venge, served  him  as  I  have  said.     Indeed,  the  little  man  was 
fortunate  not  to  get  a  broken  neck  for  his  pains  ;  for,   as  one 
would  have  thought,  he  might  have  learnt  from  the  episode  of 
his  display  of  axemanship  that  *le  Monsieur  noir '  was  an  ill 
person  to  play  practical  jokes  on. 


War!  Red  War,  191 

This  incident  ^va5  unimportant  enough  in  itself,  but  I  narrate 
it  because  it  led  to  serious  consequeaces.  As  soon  as  he  had 
staunched  the  bleeding  from  his  scratches  and  washed  himself, 
Alphonse  went  off  still  cursing,  to  recover  his  temper,  a  process 
which  I  knew  from  experience  would  take  a  very  long  time. 
When  he  had  gone  I  gave  Umslopogaas  a  jobation  and  told 
him  that  I  was  ashamed  of  his  behaviour. 

*  Ah,  well,  Macumazahn,'  he  said,  *  you  must  be  gentle  with 
me,  for  here  is  not  my  place.  I  am  weary  of  it,  weary  to  death 
of  eating  and  drinking,  of  sleeping  and  giving  in  marriage.  I 
love  not  this  soft  life  in  stone  houses  that  takes  the  heart  out 
of  a  man,  and  turns  his  strength  to  water  and  his  flesh  to  fat. 
I  love  not  the  white  robes  and  the  delicate  women,  the  blowing 
of  trumpets  and  the  flying  of  hawks.  When  we  fought  the 
Masai  at  the  kraal  yonder,  ah,  then  life  was  worth  the  living, 
but  here  is  never  a  blow  struck  in  anger,  and  I  begin  to  think 
I  shall  go  the  way  of  my  fathers  and  lift  Inkosi-kaas  no  more,' 
and  he  held  up  the  axe  and  gazed  at  it  in  sorrow. 

*  Ah,'  I  said,  '  that  is  thy  complaint,  is  it  ?  Thou  hast  the 
blood-sickness,  hast  thou  ?  and  the  Woodpecker  wants  a  tree. 
And  at  thy  age,  too.    Shame  on  thee  !  Umslopogaas.' 

'  Ay,  Macumazahn,  mine  is  a  red  trade,  yet  is  it  better  and 
more  honest  than  some.     Better  is  it  to  slay  a  man  in  fair  fight 
that  to  suck  out  his  heart's  blood  in  buying  and  selling  and 
usury  after  your  white  fashion.     Many  a  man  have  I  slain,  yet 
is  there  never  a  one  that  I  should  fear  to  look  in  the  face  again, 
ay,  many  are  there  who  once  were  friends,  and  whom  I  should 
be  right  glad  to  snuff  with.     But  there !  there !  thou  hast  thy 
ways,  and  I  mine,  each  to  his  own  people  and  his  own  place. 
The  high-veldt  ox  will  die  in  the  fat  bush  country,  and  so  is 
it  with  me,  Macumazahn.     I  am  rough,  I  know  it,  and  when 
my  blood  is  warm  I  know  not  what  I  do,  but  yet  wilt  thou  be 
sorry  when  the  night  swallows  me  and  I  am  utterly  lost  in  the 
blackness,  for  in  thy  heart  thou  lovest  me,  my  father,  Macu- 
mazahn the  fox,  though  I  be  nought  but  a  broken-down  Zulu 
war-dog — a  chief  for  whom  there  is  no  room  in  his  own  kraal, 
an  outcast  and  a  wanderer  in  strange  places :  ay,  I  love  thee, 
Macumazahn,  for  we  have  grown  grey  together,  and  there  is 
that  between  us  that  cannot  be  seen,  and  yet  is  too  strong  for 
breaking  ; '  and  he  took  his  snuff-box,  which  was  made  of  an 
old  brass  cartridge,  from  the  slit  in  his  ear,  where  he  always 
carried  it,  and  handed  it  to  me  for  me  to  help  myselt 


ig2  Allan  Quatennain. 

I  took  the  pinch  of  snuff  with  some  emotion.  It  was  quite 
true,  I  was  much  attached  to  the  bloodthirsty  old  ruffian.  I 
don't  know  what  was  the  charm  of  his  character,  but  it  had  a 
charm ;  perhaps  it  was  its  fierce  honesty  and  directness  ;  per- 
haps one  admired  his  almost  superhuman  skill  and  strength, 
or  it  may  have  been  simply  that  he  was  so  absolutely  unique. 
Frankly,  with  all  my  experience  of  savages,  I  never  knew  a  man 
quite  like  him,  he  was  so  wise  and  yet  such  a  child  with  it 
all ;  and  though  it  seems  laughable  to  say  so,  like  the  hero  of 
the  Yankee  parody,  '  he  had  a  tender  heart.'  Anyway,  I  was 
very  fond  of  him,  though  I  should  never  have  thought  of  tell- 
ing him  so. 

'Ay,  old  wolf,'  I  said,  'thine  is  a  strange  love.  Thou 
wouldst  split  me  to  the  chin  if  I  stood  in  thy  path  to-morrow.' 

'  Thou  speakest  truth,  Macumazahn,  that  would  I  if  it  came 
in  the  way  of  duty,  but  I  should  love  thee  all  the  same  when 
the  blow  had  gone  fairly  home.  Is  there  any  chance  of  some 
fighting  here,  Macumazahn?'  he  went  on  in  an  insinuating 
voice.  *  Methought  that  what  I  saw  last  night  did  show 
that  the  two  great  Queens  were  vexed  one  with  another. 
Else  had  the  "  Lady  of  the  Night "  not  brought  that  dagger 
with  her.' 

I  agreed  with  him  that  it  showed  that  more  or  less  pique 
and  irritation  existed  between  the  ladies,  and  told  him  how 
things  stood,  and  that  they  were  quarrelling  over  Incubu. 

'  Ah,  is  it  so  ?  '  he  exclaimed,  springing  up  in  delight ;  *  then 
will  there  be  war  as  surely  as  the  rivers  rise  in  the  rains — war 
to  the  end.  Women  love  the  last  blow  as  well  as  the  last  word, 
and  when  they  fight  for  love  they  are  pitiless  as  a  wounded 
buffalo.  See  thou,  Macumazahn,  a  woman  will  swim  through 
blood  to  her  desire,  and  think  nought  of  it.  With  these  eyes 
have  I  seen  it  once,  and  twice  also.  Ah,  Macumazahn,  we 
shall  see  this  fine  place  of  houses  burning  yet,  and  hear  the 
battle  cries  come  ringing  up  the  street.  After  all,  I  have  not 
wandered  for  nothing.     Can  this  folk  fight,  think  ye  ? ' 

Just  then  Sir  Henry  joined  us,  and  Good  arrived  too,  from  an- 
other direction,  looking  very  pale  and  hollow-eyed.  The  mo- 
ment Umslopogaas  saw  the  latter  he  stopped  his  bloodthirsty 
talk  and  greeted  him. 

*  Ah,  Bougwan,'  he  cried,  '  greeting  to  thee,  Inkoos,  thou  art 
surely  weary.  Didst  thou  hunt  too  much  yesterday  ?  '  Then, 
without  waiting  for  an  answer,  he  went  on — 


V/arl  Red  War,  193 

•  Listen,  Bougwan,  and  I  will  teU  thee  a  storv ;  it  is  about  a 
woman,  theretore  wilt  thou  hear  it,  is  it  not  so  ? 

'  There  was  a  man,  and  he  had  a  brother,  and  there  was  a  wo- 
man who  loved  the  man's  brother  and  was  beloved  of  the  man 
But  the  man's  brother  had  a  favourite  wife  and  loved  not  the 
woman,  and  he  made  a  mock  of  her.  Then  the  woman,  being 
ver)'  cunnmg  and  fierce-hearted  for  revenue,  took  counsel  with 
herself  and  said  to  the  man,  "  I  love  thee,  and  if  thou  wilt  make 
war  upon  thy  brother  I  will  marry  thee."  And  he  knew  it  was 
a  he,  yet  because  of  his  great  love  of  the  woman,  who  was  very 
fair,  did  he  listen  to  her  words,  and  made  war.  And  when 
many  people  had  been  killed  his  brother  sent  to  him,  saying, 
Why  slayest  thou  me?  What  hurt  have  I  done  unto  thee? 
From  my  youth  up  have  I  not  loved  thee  ?  When  thou  wast 
little  did  I  not  nurture  thee,  and  have  we  not  gone  down  to  war 
together  and  divided  the  cattle,  girl  by  girl,  ox  by  ox,  and  cow 
by  cow?  Why  slayest  thou  me,  my  brother,  son  of  my  own 
mother?" 

'  Then  the  man's  heart  was  heav7,  and  he  knew  that  his  path 
was  evil,  and  he  put  aside  the  tempting  of  the  woman  and 
ceased  to  make  war  on  his  brother,  and  lived  at  peace  in  the 
same  kraal  with  him.  And  after  a  time  the  woman  came  to  him 
and  said,  «  I  have  lost  the  past,  I  will  be  thy  wife,"  and  in  his 
heart  he  knew  that  it  was  a  lie  and  that  she  thought  the  evil 
thing,  yet  because  of  his  love  did  he  take  her  to  wife. 

'  And  the  very  night  that  they  were  wed,  when  the  man  was 
plunged  into  a  deep  sleep,  did  the  woman  arise  and  take  his 
axe  trom  his  hand  and  creep  into  the  hut  of  his  brother  and 
slay  him  in  his  rest.  Then  did  she  slink  back  like  a  gorged 
lioness  and  place  the  thong  of  the  red  axe  back  upon  his  wrist 
and  go  her  ways. 

'And  at  the  dawning  the  people  came  shouting,  *  Lousta  is 
slain  in  the  night,'  and  they  came  unto  the  hut  of  the  man  and 
there  he  lay  asleep  and  by  him  was  the  red  axe.  Then  they 
did  remember  the  war  and  say,  "  Lo  !  he  hath  of  a  surety  slain 
his  brother,"  and  they  would  have  taken  and  killed  him,  but  he 
rose  and  fled  swiftly,  and  as  he  fleeted  by  he  slew  the  woman. 

'  But  death  could  not  wipe  out  the  evil  she  had  done,  and  on 
him  rested  the  weight  of  all  her  sin.  Therefore  is  he  an  out- 
cast and  his  name  a  scorn  among  his  own  people ;  for  on  him, 
and  him  only,  resteth  the  burden  of  her  who  betrayed.  And, 
therefore,  does  he  wander  afar,  without  a  kraal  and  without  an 

13 


194  Allan  Quatermain, 

ox  or  a  wife,  and  therefore  will  he  die  afar  like  a  stricken  buck 
and  his  name  be  accursed  from  generation  to  generation,  in 
that  the  people  say  that  he  slew  his  brother,  Lousta,  by  treach- 
ery in  the  night-time.' 

The  old  Zulu  paused,  and  I  saw  that  he  was  deeply  agitated 
by  his  own  story.  Presently  he  hfted  his  head,  which  he  had 
bowed  to  his  breast,  and  went  on  : 

*  I  was  that  man,  Bougwan.  Ou !  /  was  that  man,  and 
now  hark  thou  !  Even  as  I  am  so  wilt  thou  be — a  tool,  a  play- 
thing, an  ox  of  burden  to  carry  the  evil  deeds  of  another. 
Listen '  When  thou  didst  creep  after  the  "  Lady  of  the  Night  " 
/  was  hard  upon  thy  track.  When  she  struck  thee  with  the 
knife  in  the  sleeping  place  of  the  White  Queen  /  was  there 
also ;  when  thou  didst  let  her  slip  away  like  a  snake  in  the 
stones  /  saw  thee,  and  I  knew  that  she  had  bewitched  thee 
and  that  a  true  man  had  abandoned  the  truth,  and  he  who 
aforetime  loved  a  straight  path  had  taken  a  crooked  way.  For- 
give me,  my  father,  if  my  words  are  sharp,  but  out  of  a  full 
heart  are  they  spoken.  See  her  no  more,  so  shalt  thou  go  down 
with  honour  to  the  grave.  Else  because  of  the  beauty  of  a 
woman  that  weareth  as  a  garment  of  fur  shalt  thou  be  even  as 
I  am,  and  perchance  with  more  cause.     I  have  said.' 

Throughout  this  long  and  eloquent  address  Good  had  been 
perfectly  silent,  but  when  the  tale  began  to  shape  itself  so  aptly 
to  his  own  case,  he  coloured  up,  and  when  he  learnt  that  what 
had  passed  between  him  and  Sorais  had  been  overseen  he 
was  evidently  much  distressed.  And  now,  when  at  last  he 
spoke,  it  was  in  a  tone  of  humility  quite  foreign  to  him. 

*  I  must  say,'  he  said,  with  a  bitter  little  laugh,  '  that  I 
scarcely  thought  that  I  should  live  to  be  taught  my  duty  by  a 
Zulu  ;  but  it  just  shows  what  we  can  come  to.  I  wonder  if  you 
fellows  can  understand  how  humiliated  I  feel,  and  the  bitterest 
part  of  it  is  that  I  deserve  it  all.  Of  course  I  should  have  hand- 
ed her  over  to  the  guard,  but  I  could  not,  and  that  is  a  fact.  I 
let  her  go,  and  I  promised  to  say  nothing,  more  is  the  shame 
to  me.  She  told  me  that  if  I  would  side  with  her  she  would 
marry  me  and  make  me  king  of  this  country,  but  thank  good- 
ness I  did  find  the  heart  to  say  that  even  to  marry  her  I  could 
not  desert  my  friends.  And  now  you  can  do  what  you  like,  I 
deserve  it  all  All  I  have  to  say  is  that  I  hope  that  you  may 
never  love  a  woman  with  all  your  heart  and  then  be  so  sorely 
tempted  of  her,'  and  he  turned  to  go. 


War  !  Red  War,  195 

*  Look  here,  old  fellow,'  said  Sir  Henry,  *  just  stop  a  min- 
ute. I  have  a  little  tale  to  tell  you  too.'  And  he  proceeded  to 
narrate  what  had  taken  place  on  the  previous  day  between 
Sorais  and  himself. 

This  was  a  finishing  stroke  to  poor  Good.  It  is  not  pleas- 
ant to  any  man  to  learn  that  he  has  been  made  a  fool  of,  but 
when  the  circumstances  are  as  peculiarly  atrocious  as  in  the 
present  case,  it  is  about  as  bitter  a  pill  as  anybody  can  be 
called  on  to  swallow. 

*  Do  you  know,'  he  said,  '  1  think  that  between  you,  you 
fellows  have  about  worked  a  cure,'  and  he  turned  and  walked 
away,  and  I  for  one  felt  very  sorry  for  him.  Ah,  if  the  moths 
would  always  carefully  avoid  the  candle,  how  few  burnt  wings 
there  would  be ! 

That  day  was  a  Court  day,  when  the  Queens  sat  in  the 
great  hall  and  received  petitions,  discussed  laws,  &c.,  and  thith- 
er we  adjourned  shortly  afterwards.  On  our  way  we  were 
joined  by  Good,  who  was  looking  exceedingly  depressed,  and 
no  wonder. 

When  we  got  into  the  hall  Nyleptha  was  already  on  her 
throne  and  proceeding  with  business  as  usual,  surrounded  by 
councillors,  courtiers,  lawyers,  priests,  and  an  unusually  strong 
guard.  It  was,  however,  easy  to  see,  from  the  air  of  excite- 
ment and  expectation  on  the  faces  of  everybody  present  that 
nobody  was  paying  much  attention  to  ordinar}'  affairs,  the 
fact  being  that  the  knowledge  that  civil  war  was  imminent 
had  now  got  abroad.  We  saluted  Nyleptha  and  took  our 
accustomed  places,  and  for  a  little  while  things  went  on  as 
usual,  when  suddenly  the  trumpets  began  to  call  outside  the 
palace,  and  from  the  great  crowd  that  was  gathered  there  in 
anticipation  of  some  unusual  event  there  rose  a  roar  of  *  Sorais  f 
Sorais  / ' 

Then  came  the  roll  of  many  chariot  wheels,  and  presently 
the  great  curtains  at  the  end  of  the  hall  were  drawn  wide  and 
through  them  entered  the  *  Lady  of  the  Night '  herself.  Nor 
did  she  come  alone.  Preceding  her  was  Agon,  the  High  Priest, 
arrayed  in  his  most  gorgeous  vestments,  and  on  either  side  were 
other  priests.  The  reason  of  their  presence  was  obvious — 
coming  with  them  it  would  have  been  sacrilege  to  attempt  to 
detain  her.  Behind  her  were  a  number  of  the  great  lords,  and 
behind  them  a  small  body  of  picked  guards.  A  glance  at  Sorais 
herself  was  enough  to  show  that  her  mission  was  of  no  peaceful 


196  Allan  Quatermain. 

kind,  for  in  place  of  her  gold-embroidered  'kaf  she  wore  a 
shining  tunic  formed  of  golden  scales,  and  on  her  head  a  little 
golden  helmet.  In  her  hand,  too,  she  bore  a  toy  spear,  beauti- 
fully made  and  fashioned  of  solid  silver.  Up  the  hall  she  came 
looking  like  a  honess  in  her  conscious  pride  and  beauty,  and 
as  she  came  the  spectators  fell  back  bowing  and  made  a  path 
for  her.  By  the  sacred  stone  she  halted,  and  laying  her  hand 
on  it  she  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice  to  Nyleptha  on  the  throne, 
'  Hail,  oh  Queen  ! ' 

*  All  hail,  my  sister  ! '  answered  Nyleptha.  '  Draw  thou  near. 
Fear  not,  I  give  thee  safe  conduct.' 

Sorais  answered  with  a  haughty  look,  and  swept  on  up  the 
hall  till  she  stood  right  before  the  thrones. 

*  A  boon,  oh  Queen  I '  she  cried  again. 

*  Speak  on,  my  sister ;  what  is  there  that  I  can  give  thee  who 
hath  half  our  kingdom  ?  ' 

'Thou  canst  tell  me  a  true  word — me  and  the  people  of 
Zu-Vendis.  Art  thou,  or  art  thou  not,  about  to  take  this 
foreign  wolf,'  and  she  pointed  to  Sir  Henry  with  her  toy  spear, 
'  to  be  a  husband  to  thee,  and  share  thy  bed  and  throne?' 

Curtis  winced  at  this,  and  turning  towards  Sorais,  said  to 
her  in  a  low  voice,  '  Methinks  that  yesterday  thou  hadst  other 
names  than  wolf  to  call  me  by,  oh  Queen  ! '  and  I  saw  her 
bite  her  lips  as,  like  a  danger  flag,  the  blood  flamed  red  upon 
her  face.  As  for  Nyleptha,  who  is  nothing  if  not  original,  she, 
seeing  that  the  thing  was  out,  and  that  there  was  nothing  fur- 
ther to  be  gained  by  concealment,  answered  the  question  in  a 
novel  and  effectual  manner,  inspired  thereto,  as  I  firmly  be- 
heve,  by  coquetry  and  a  desire  to  triumph  over  her  rival. 

Up  she  rose,  and  descending  from  the  throne,  swept  in  all 
the  glory  of  her  royal  grace  on  to  where  her  lover  stood.  There 
she  stopped  and  untwined  the  golden  snake  that  was  wound 
around  her  arm.  Then  she  bade  him,  kneel,  and  he  dropped 
on  one  knee  on  the  marble  before  her,  and  next,  taking  the 
golden  snake  with  both  her  hands,  she  bent  the  pure  soft  metal 
round  his  neck,  and  when  it  was  fast,  deliberately  kissed  him 
on  the  brow  and  called  him  her  '  dear  lord.' 

'Thou  seest,'  she  said,  when  the  excited  murmur  of  the 
spectators  had  died  away,  addressing  her  sister  as  Sir  Henry 
rose  to  his  feet,  '  I  have  put  my  collar  round  the  "  wolfs  neck," 
and  behold  !  he  shall  be  my  watchdog,  and  that  is  my  answer 
to  thee,  Sorais,  my  sister,  and  to  those  ^nth  thee.     Feaj  not,* 


War!  Red  War,  197 

she  went  on,  smiling  sweetly  on  her  lover,  and  pointing  to  the 
golden  snake  she  had  twined  round  his  massive  throat,  '  if 
my  yoke  be  heavy,  yet  is  it  of  pure  gold,  and  it  shall  not  gall 
thee.' 

Then,  turning  to  the  audience,  she  continued  in  a  clear 
proud  tone,  'Ay,  "Lady  of  the  Night,"  Lords,  Priests,  and  People 
here  gathered  together,  by  this  sign  do  I  take  the  foreii^ner  to 
husband,  even  here  in  the  face  of  ye  all.  What,  am  1  a  Queen, 
and  yet  not  free  to  choose  the  man  whom  I  will  love  ?  Then 
should  I  be  lower  than  the  meanest  girl  in  all  my  provinces. 
Nay,  he  hath  won  my  heart,  and  with  it  goes  my  hand,  and 
throne,  and  all  I  have — ay,  had  he  been  a  beggar  instead  of  a 
great  lord  fairer  and  stronger  than  any  here,  and  having  m.ore 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  strange  things,  I  had  given  him  all, 
how  much  more  so  then  being  what  he  is  ? '  And  she  took 
his  hand  and  gazed  proudly  on  him,  and  holding  it,  stood  there 
boldly  facing  the  people.  And  such  was  her  sweetness  and  the 
power  and  dignity  ot  her  person,  and  so  beautiful  she  looked 
standing  hand  in  hand  there  at  her  lover's  side,  so  sure  of  him 
and  of  herself,  and  so  ready  to  risk  all  things  and  endure  all 
things  for  him  that  most  of  those  who  saw  the  sight,  which 
I  am  sure  no  one  of  them  will  ever  forget,  caught  the  fire  from 
her  eyes  and  the  happy  colour  from  her  blushing  face,  and 
cheered  her  like  wild  things.  It  was  a  bold  stroke  for  her  to 
make,  and  it  appealed  to  the  imagination ;  but  human  nature 
in  Zu-Vendis,  as  elsewhere,  loves  that  which  is  bold  and  not 
afraid  to  break  a  rule,  and  is  moreover  peculiarly  susceptible 
to  appeals  to  its  poetical  side. 

And  so  the  people  cheered  till  the  roof  rang  ;  but  '  Sorais 
of  the  Night '  stood  there  with  downca.'^t  eyes,  for  she  could 
not  bear  to  see  her  sister's  triumph,  which  robbed  her  of  the 
man  whom  she  had  hoped  to  win,  and  in  the  awlulness  of  her 
jealous  anger  she  trembled  and  turned  white  like  an  aspen  in 
the  wind.  I  think  I  have  said  somewhere  of  her  that  she  re- 
minded me  of  the  sea  on  a  calm  day,  having  the  same  aspect 
of  sleeping  power  about  her.  Well,  it  was  all  awake  now,  and 
like  the  face  of  the  furious  ocean  it  awed  and  yet  fascinated  nve. 
A  really  handsome  woman  in  a  royal  rage  is  always  a  beautiful 
sight,  but  such  beauty  and  such  a  rage  I  never  saw  combined 
before,  and  I  can  only  say  that  the  effect  produced  was  well 
worthy  of  the  two. 


198  Allan  Quatermairu 

She  lifted  her  white  face,  the  teeth  were  set,  and  there  were 
purple  rings  beneath  her  glowing  eyes.  Thrice  she  tried  to 
speak  and  thrice  she  failed,  but  at  last  her  voice  came.  Raising 
her  silver  spear,  she  shook  it,  and  the  light  glanced  from  it  and 
from  the  golden  scales  of  her  cuirass. 

'  And  thinkest  thou,  Nyleptha,'  she  said  in  notes  which  pealed 
through  the  great  hall  like  a  clarion,  '  thinkest  thou  that  I,  a 
Queen  of  the  Zu-Vendi,  will  brook  that  this  base  outlander  shall 
sit  upon  my  father's  throne  and  rear  up  half-breeds  to  fill  the 
place  of  the  great  House  of  the  Stairway  ?  Never  !  never  ! 
while  there  is  life  in  my  bosom  and  a  man  to  follow  me  and  a 
spear  to  strike  with.     Who  is  on  my  side  ?  who  ? 

'  Now  hand  ihou  over  this  foreign  wolf  and  those  who  came 
to  prey  here  with  him  to  the  doom  of  fire,  for  have  they  not 
committed  the  deadly  sin  against  the  Sun  ?  or,  Nyleptha,  I  give 
thee  War — red  War  !  Ay,  I  say  to  thee  that  the  path  of 
thy  passion  shall  be  marked  out  by  the  blazing  of  thy  towns 
and  watered  with  the  blood  of  those  who  cleave  to  thee.  On 
thy  head  rest  the  burden  of  the  deed,  and  in  thy  ears  ring  the 
groans  of  the  dying  and  the  cries  of  the  widows  and  those 
who  are  left  fatherless  forever  and  forever. 

'  I  tell  thee  I  will  tear  thee,  Nyleptha,  the  White  Queen,  from 
thy  throne,  and  that  thou  shalt  be  hurled — ay,  hurled  even  from 
the  topmost  stair  of  the  great  way  to  the  foot  thereof,  in  that 
thou  hast  covered  the  name  of  the  house  of  him  who  built  it 
with  black  shame.  And  I  tell  ye,  strangers,  all  save  thou, 
Bougwan,  whom  because  thou  didst  do  me  a  service  I  will 
save  alive  if  thou  wilt  leave  these  men  and  follow  me '  (here 
poor  Good  shook  his  head  vigorously  and  ejaculated  '  Can't 
be  done '  in  English),  '  that  I  will  wrap  you  in  sheets  of  gold 
and  hang  you  yet  ahve  in  chains  from  the  four  golden  trumpets 
of  the  four  angels  that  fly  east  and  west  and  north  and  south 
from  the  giddiest  pinnacles  of  the  Temple,  so  that  ye  may 
be  a  token  and  a  warning  to  the  land.  And  as  for  thee.  In- 
cubu,  thou  shalt  die  in  yet  another  fashion  that  I  will  not  tell 
thee  now.' 

She  ceased,  panting  for  breath,  for  her  passion  shook  her 
like  a  storm,  and  a  murmur,  partly  of  horror  and  partly  of  ad- 
miration, ran  through  the  hall.  Then  Nyleptha  answered 
calmly  and  with  dignity  : 

*  111  would  it  become  my  place  and  dignity,  oh  sister,  so  te 
speak  as  thou  hast  spoken  and  so  to  threat  as  thou  hast  threat- 


War!  Red  War.  I99 

ened.  Yet  if  thou  wilt  make  war,  then  will  I  strive  to  bear  up 
against  thee,  for  if  my  hand  seem  soft,  yet  shalt  thou  find  it 
of  iron  when  it  grips  thine  armies  by  the  throat.  Sorais,  I  fear 
thee  not  I  weep  for  that  which  thou  wilt  bring  upon  our 
people  and  on  thyself,  but  for  myself  I  say — I  fear  thee  not. 
Yet  thou,  who  but  yesterday  didst  strive  to  win  my  lover  and 
my  lord  from  me,  whom  to-day  thou  dost  call  a  "  foreign  wolf," 
to  be  thy  lover  and  thy  lord '  (here  there  was  an  immense 
sensation  in  the  hall),  'thou  who  but  last  night,  as  I  have 
learnt  bat  since  thou  didst  enter  here,  didst  creep  like  a 
snake  into  my  sleeping-place — ay,  even  by  a  secret  way,  and 
wouldst  have  foully  murdered  me,  thy  sister,  as   I  lay  asleep 

'  It  is  false,  it  is  false  ! '  rang  out  Agon's  and  a  score  of 
other  voices. 

'  It  is  not  false,'  said  I,  producing  the  broken  point  of  the 
dagger  and  holding  it  up.  *  Where  is  the  haft  from  which  this 
flew,  Sorais  ? ' 

'  It  is  not  false,'  cried  Good,  determined  at  last  to  act  like  a 
loyal  man.  '  I  took  her  by  the  queen's  bed,  and  on  my 
breast  the  dagger  broke.' 

*  Who  is  on  my  side  ?  '  cried  Sorais,  shaking  her  silver  spear, 
for  she  saw  that  public  sympathy  was  turning  against  her. 
'  What,  Bougwan,  thou  comest  not  ? '  she  said,  addressing 
Good,  who  was  standing  close  to  her,  in  a  low,  concentrated 
voice.  '  Thou  pale-souled  fool,  for  a  reward  thou  shalt  eat  out 
thy  heart  with  love  of  me  and  not  be  satisfied,  and  thou  might- 
est  have  been  my  husband  and  a  king  I  At  least  I  hold  thet 
in  chains  that  cannot  be  broken.' 

'  War  I  war  I  war  I '  she  cried.  '  Here,  with  my  hand  upon 
the  sacred  stone  that  shall  endure,  so  runs  the  prophecy,  till 
the  Zu-Vendi  set  their  necks  beneg^h  an  alien  yoke,  I  declare 
war  to  the  end.  Who  follows  Sorais  of  the  Night  to  victory 
and  honour  ? ' 

Instantly  the  whole  concourse  began  to  break  up  in  inde- 
scribable confusion.  Many  present  hastened  to  throw  in  their 
lot  with  the  '  Lady  of  the  Night,'  but  some  came  from  her  fol- 
lowinor  to  us.  Amongst  the  former  was  an  under  officer  of 
Nyleptha's  own  guard,  who  suddenly  turned  and  made  a  run 
for  the  doorway  through  which  Sorais'  people  were  already 
passing.  Umslopogaas,  who  was  present  and  had  taken  the 
whole  scene  in,  seeing  with  admirable  presence  of  mind  that 


200  Allan  Qtiatermain. 

if  this  soldier  got  away  others  would  follow  his  example,  seized 
the  man,  who  drew  his  sword  and  struck  at  him.  Thereon  the 
Zulu  sprang  back  with  a  shout,  and,  avoiding  the  sword  cuts, 
began  to  peck  at  his  foe  with  his  terrible  axe,  till  in  a  few 
seconds  the  man's  fate  overtook  him  and  he  fell  with  a  clash 
heavily  and  quite  dead  upon  the  marble  floor. 

This  was  the  first  blood  spilt  in  the  war. 

'  Shut  the  gates,'  I  shouted,  thinking  that  we  might  perhaps 
catch  Sorais  so,  and  not  being  troubled  with  the  idea  of  com- 
mitting sacrilege.  But  the  order  came  too  late,  her  guards 
were  already  passing  through  them,  and  in  another  minute  the 
streets  echoed  with  the  furious  galloping  of  horses  and  the  roll- 
ing of  chariots. 

So,  drawing  half  the  people  after  her,  Sorais  was  soon  passing 
like  a  whirlwind  through  the  Frowning  City  on  her  road  to  her 
headquarters  at  M'Arstuna,  a  fortress  situated  a  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  to  the  north  of  Milosis. 

And  after  that  the  city  was  alive  with  the  endless  tramp  of 
regiments  and  the  preparations  for  war,  and  old  Umslopogaas 
once  more  began  to  sit  in  the  sunshine  and  go  through  a  show 
of  sharpening  Inkosi-kaas's  rasor  edge. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A   STRANGE    WEDDING. 


One  person,  however,  did  not  succeed  in  getting  out  in  time 
beiore  the  gales  were  shut,  and  that  was  the  High  Priest  Agon, 
who,  as  we  had  every  reason  to  believe,  was  Sorais's  great  ally, 
and  the  heart  and  soul  of  her  party.  This  cunning  and  fero- 
cious old  man  had  not  forgiven  us  for  those  hippopotami,  or 
rather  that  was  what  he  said.  What  he  meant  was  that  he 
would  never  brook  the  introduction  of  our  wider  ways  of 
tlujught  and  foreign  learning  and  influence  while  there  was 
a  possibility  of  stamping  us  out.  Also  he  knew  that  we  possess- 
ed a  different  system  of  religion,  and  no  doubt  was  in  daily  ter- 
ror ot  our  attempting  to  introduce  it  into  Zu-Vendis.  One  day 
he  asked  me  if  we  had  any  religion  in  our  country,   and  I  told 


A  Sira?ige  Wedding.  20 1 

him  that  so  far  as  1  could  remember  we  had  ninety-five  different 
ones.  You  might  have  knocked  him  down  with  a  feather,  and 
really  it  is  difficult  not  to  pity  a  high  priest  of  a  well-established 
cult  who  is  haunted  by  the  possible  approach  of  one  oi  all  of 
ninety-five  new  religions. 

When  we  knew  that  Agon  was  caught,  Nyleptha,  Sir  Henry, 
and  I  discussed  what  was  to  be  done  with  him.  I  was  for 
closely  incarcerating  him,  but  Nyleptha  shook  her  head,  saying 
that  it  would  produce  a  disastrous  effect  throughout  the  coun- 
try. '  Ah  ! '  she  added,  with  a  stamp  of  her  foot,  '  if  I  win  and 
am  once  really  Queen  I  will  break  the  power  of  those  priests, 
with  their  rites  and  revels  and  dark  secret  ways.'  I  only  wish- 
ed that  old  Agon  could  have  heard  her,  it  would  have  fright- 
ened him. 

*  Well,'  said  Sir  Henry,  'if  we  are  not  to  imprison  him  1 
suppose  that  we  may  as  well  let  him  go.     He  s  no  use  here.' 

Nyleptha  looked  at  him  in  a  curious  sort  of  way,  and  said  in 
a  dry  little  voice,  *  Thinkest  thou  so,  my  lord  ? ' 

*  Eh ? '  said  Curtis.  'No,  I  don't  see  what  is  the  use  of 
keeping  him.' 

She  said  nothing,  but  continued  looking  at  him  in  a  way  that 
was  as  shy  as  it  was  sweet. 

Then  at  last  he  understood. 

'  Forgive  me,  Nyleptha,'  he  said,  rather  tremulously,  '  dost 
thou  mean  that  thou  wilt  marry  me,  even  now  ?  ' 

'  Nay,  I  know  not ;  let  my  lord  say,'  was  her  rapid  answer ; 
*  but  if  my  lord  wills,  the  priest  is  there  and  the  altar  is  there ' 
— pointing  to  the  entrance  to  a  private  chapel — '  and  am  I  not 
ready  to  do  the  will  of  my  lord  ?  Lisfen,  oh  my  lord  ;  in  eight 
days  or  less  thou  must  leave  me  and  go  down  to  war,  for  thou 
shalt  lead  my  armies,  and  in  war — men  sometimes  fall,  and  if 
so  I  would  for  a  litde  space  have  had  thee  all  my  own,  if  only 
for  memory's  sake  ;  and  the  tears  overflowed  her  lovely  eyes 
and  rolled  down  her  face  like  heavy  drops  of  dew  down  the  red 
heart  of  a  rose. 

'  Mayhap,  too,'  she  went  on,  *  I  shall  lose  my  crown,  and 
with  my  crown  my  life  and  thine  also.  Sorais  is  very  strong 
and  very  bitter,  and  if  she  prevails  she  will  not  spare.  Who 
can  read  the  future  ?  Happiness  is  the  world's  white  bird,  that 
alights  seldom,  and  flies  fast  and  far  till  one  day  he  is  lost  in 
the  clouds.  Therefore  should  we  hold  him  fast  if  by  any  chance 
tic  rescs  for  a  little  space  upon  our  hand.  It  is  not  wise  to 
M 


203  Allan  Quatermaifk 

neglect  the  present  for  the  future,  for  who  knows  what  the 
future  will  be,  Incubu  ?  Let  us  pluck  our  flowers  while  the 
dew  is  on  them,  for  when  the  sun  is  up  they  wither  and  on  the 
morrow  will  others  bloom  that  we  shall  never  see.'  And  she 
lifted  her  sweet  face  to  him  and  smiled  into  his  eyes,  and  once 
more  I  felt  a  horrible  pang  of  jealousy  and  turned  and  went 
away.  They  never  took  much  notice  of  whether  I  was  there  or 
not,  thinking,  I  suppose,  that  I  was  an  old  fool,  and  that  it  did 
not  matter  one  way  or  the  other,  and  really  I  believe  they  were 
right. 

So  I  went  back  to  our  quarters  and  ruminated  over  things  in 
general,  and  watched  old  Umslopogaas  whetting  his  axe  outside 
the  window  as  a  vulture  whets  his  beak  beside  a  dying  ox. 

And  in  about  an  hour's  time  Sir  Henry  came  tearing  over, 
looking  very  radiant  and  wildly  excited,  and  found  Good  and 
myself  and  even  Umslopogaas,  and  asked  us  if  we  should  like 
to  assist  at  a  real  wedding.  Of  course  we  said  yes,  and  off  we 
went  to  the  chapel,  where  we  found  Agon  looking  as  sulky  as 
any  High  Priest  possibly  could,  and  no  wonder.  It  appeared 
that  he  and  Nyleptha  had  had  a  slight  difference  of  opinion 
about  the  coming  ceremony.  He  had  flatly  refused  to  cele- 
brate it,  or  to  allow  any  of  his  priests  to  do  so,  whereupon  Ny- 
leptha became  very  angry  and  told  him  that  she,  as  Queen,  was 
head  of  the  Church,  and  meant  to  be  obeyed.  Indeed,  she 
played  the  part  of  a  Zu-Vendi  Henry  VHI.  to  perfection,  and 
insisted  that  if  she  wanted  to  be  married  she  would  be  married, 
and  he  should  marry  her.* 

He  still  refused  to  go  through  the  ceremony,  so  she  clinched 
her  argument  thus — 

*  Well,  I  cannot  execute  a  High  Priest,  because  there  is  an 
absurd  prejudice  against  it,  and  I  cannot  imprison  him  because 
all  his  subordinates  would  raise  a  crying  that  would  brmg  the 
stars  down  on  Zu-Vendis  and  crush  it,  but  I  ca?i  leave  him  to 
contemplate  the  altar  of  the  Sun  without  anything  to  eat,  be- 
cause that  is  his  natural  vocation,  and  if  thou  wilt  not  marry 
me,  O  Agon !  thou  shalt  be  placed  before  the  altar  yonder  with 
nought  but  a  little  water  till  such  time  as  thou  hast  reconsidered 
the  matter.* 


•  Tn  Zu-Vrndis  members  of  the  Royal  House  can  only  be  married  by  the 
HigL  Priest  or  a  formally  appointed  deputy. — A.Q. 


A  Strange  Wedding.  203 

Now,  as  it  happened,  Agon  had  been  hurried  away  that 
morning  without  his  breakfast,  and  was  already  exceedingly 
hungry,  so  he  presently  modified  his  views  and  consented  to 
marry  them,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  he  washed  his  hands 
of  all  responsibility  in  the  matter. 

So  it  happened  that  presently,  attended  only  by  two  of  her 
favourite  maidens,  came  the  Queen  Nyleptha,  with  happy 
blushing  face  and  downcast  eyes,  dressed  in  pure  white,  without 
embroidery  of  any  sort,  as  seems  to  be  the  fashion  on  these  oc- 
casions in  most  countries  of  the  world.  She  did  not  wear  a 
single  ornament,  even  her  gold  circlets  were  removed,  and  I 
thought  that  if  possible  she  looked  more  lovely  than  ever  with- 
out them,  as  really  superbly  beautiful  women  do. 

She  came,  curtseyed  low  to  Sir  Henr)-,  and  then  took  his 
hand  and  led  him  up  before  the  altar,  and  after  a  little  pause, 
in  a  slow,  clear  voice  uttered  the  follo%ving  words,  which  are 
customar}'  in  Zu-Vendis  if  the  bride  desires  and  the  man  con- 
sents : — 

*  Thou  dost  swear  by  the  Sun  that  thou  wilt  take  no  other 
woman  to  wife  unless  I  lay  my  hand  upon  her  and  bid  her 
come  ? ' 

'  I  swear  it,'  answered  Sir  Henry ;  adding  in  English,  *  One 
is  quite  enough  for  me.' 

Then  Agon,  who  had  been  sulking  in  a  corner  near  the  altar, 
came  forward  and  gabbled  oflf  something  into  his  beard  at  such 
a  rate  that  I  could  not  follow  it,  but  it  appeared  to  be  an  invo- 
cation to  the  Sun  to  bless  the  union  and  make  it  fruitful.     I 
observed  that  Nyleptha  Hstened  very  closely  to   every   word, 
and  afterwards  discovered  that  she  was  afraid  lest  Agon  should 
play  her  a  trick,  and  by  going  through  the  invocations    back- 
wards divorce  instead  of  marry  them.     At  the  end  of  the  invo- 
cations they  were  asked,  as  in  our  service,    if  they  took  each 
other  for  husband  and  wife,  and  on  their  assenting  they  kissed 
each  other  before  the  altar,  and  the  service  was  over,  so  far  as 
their  rites  were  concerned.     But  it  seemed  to  me  that  there 
was  yet  something  wanting,  and  so  I  produced  a  Prayer-Book, 
which  has,  together  with  the  'Ingoldsby  I^egends,'  that  I  often 
read  when  I  lie  awake  at  night,    accompanied  me  in  all  my 
later  wanderings.     I  gave  it  to  my  poor  boy  Harr}-  years  ago, 
and  after  his  death  I  found  it  among  his  things  and  took  it  back 
again. 


204  Allan  Quatermairu 

*  Curtis,'  I  said,  *  I  am  not  a  clerg>'man,  and  I  do  not  know  / 
if  what  I  am  going  to  propose  is  allowable — I  know  it  is  not    -v 
legal — but  if  you  and  the  Queen  have  no  objection  I  should     / 
like  to  read  the  English   marriage  service  over  you.     It  is  a 
solemn  step  which  you  are  taking,  and  I  think  that  you  ought, 
as  far  as  circumstances  will  allow,  to  give  it  the  sanction  of  your 
own  reli-^ion.' 

'  I  have  thought  of  that,'  he  said,  'and  I. wish  you  would.  I 
do  not  feel  half  married  yet.' 

Nyleptha  raised  no  objection,  fully  understanding  that  her 
husband  wished  to  celebrate  the  marriage  according  to  the  rites 
prevailing  in  his  own  countr)',  and  so  I  set  to  work  and  read 
ihe  service,  from  *  Dearly  beloved '  to  '  amazement,'  as  well  as  I 
could ;  and  when  I  came  to  '  I,  Henry,  take  thee,  Nyleptha,'  I 
translated,  and  also  *  I,  Nyleptha,  take  thee,  Henr)','  which  she 
repeated  after  me  very  well.  Then  Sir  Henry  took  a  plain  gold 
ring  from  his  little  finger  and  placed  it  on  hers,  and  so  on  to  the 
end.  The  ring  had  been  Curtis's  mother's  wedding-ring,  and  I 
could  not  help  thinking  how  asionished  the  dear  old  Yorkshire 
lady  would  have  been  if  she  could  have  foreseen  that  her  wed- 
ding ring  was  to  serve  a  similar  purpose  for  Nyleptha,  a  Queen 
of  the  Zu-Vendi. 

As  for  Agon,  he  was  with  difficulty  kept  calm  while  this 
second  ceremony  was  going  on,  for  he  at  once  understood  that 
it  was  religious  in  its  nature,  and  doubtless  bethought  him  of 
the  ninety-five  new  faiths  which  loomed  so  ominously  in  his 
eyes.  Indeed,  he  at  once  set  me  down  as  a  rival  High  Priest, 
and  hated  me  accordingly.  However,  in  the  end  ofif  he  went, 
positively  bristling  with  indignation,  and  I  knew  that  we  might 
look  out  for  danger  from  his  direction. 

And  ofif  went  Good  and  I,  and  old  Umslopogaas  also,  leav- 
ing the  happy  pair  to  themselves,  and  very  low  we  all  felt. 
Marriages  are  supposed  to  be  cheerful  things,  but  my  expeu- 
ence  is  that  they  are  very  much  the  reverse  to  everybody,  ex- 
cept perhaps  the  two  people  chiefly  interested.  They  mean 
the  breaking-up  of  so  many  old  ties  as  well  as  the  undertaking 
of  so  many  new  ones,  and  there  is  always  something  sad  about 
the  passing  away  of  the  old  order.  Now  to  take  this  case  for 
instance  :  Sir  Henry  Curtis  is  the  best  and  kindest  fellow  and 
friend  in  the  world,  but  he  has  never  been  quite  the  same  since 
that  little  scene  in  the  chapel.  It  is  always  Nyleptha  this  and 
Nyleptha  that — Nyleptha,  in  short,  from  morning   till   night  \r 


A  Strange  Wedding.  205 

one  way  or  another,  either  expressed  or  understood  And  as 
for  the  old  friends — well,  of  course  they  have  taken  the  place 
that  old  iriends  ought  to  take,  and  which  ladies  are  as  a  rule 
very  careful  to  see  they  do  take  when  a  man  marries,  and  that 
IS,  the  second  place.  Yes,  he  would  be  angry  if  anybody  said 
so,  but  it  is  a  fact  for  all  that.  He  is  not  quite  the  same,  and 
Nyleptha  is  very  sweet,  and  very  charming,  but  I  think  that 
she  likes  him  to  understand  that  she  has  married  kim^  and  not 
Quatermain,  Good  and  Co.  But  there  !  what  is  the  use  of 
grumbling  ?  It  is  all  ver)'  right  and  proper,  as  any  married  lady 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  explaining,  and  I  am  a  selfish,  jeal- 
ous old  man,  though  1  hope  I  never  show  it 

So  Good  and  I  went  and  ate  in  silence  and  then  indulged 
in  an  extra  fine  flagon  of  old  Zu-Vendian  to  keep  our  spirits 
up,  and  presently  one  of  our  attendants  came  and  told  a  story 
that  gave  us  something  to  think  about. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  remembered  that  after  his  quarrel  with 
Umslopogaas,  Alphonse  had  gone  off  in  an  exceedingly  ill 
temper  to  sulk  over  his  scratches.  Well,  it  appears  that  he 
walked  right  past  the  Temple  to  the  Sun,  down  the  wide  road 
on  the  further  side  of  the  slope  it  crowns,  and  thence  into  the 
beautiful  park,  or  pleasure  gardens,  which  are  laid  out  just 
beyond  the  outer  wall.  After  wandering  about  there  for  a  little 
he  started  to  return,  but  was  met  near  the  outer  gate  by  Sorais' 
train  of  chariots,  which  were  galloping  furiously  along  the  great 
northern  road.  When  she  caught  sight  of  Alphonse,  Sorais 
halted  her  train  and  called  to  him.  On  approaching  he  was 
instantly  seized  and  dragged  into  one  of  the  chariots  and  car- 
ried off,  '  crying  out  loudly,'  as  our  informant  said,  and  as  from 
my  general  knowledge  of  him  I  can  well  believe. 

At  first  I  was  much  puzzled  to  know  what  object  Sorais  could 
have  had  in  carrying  off  the  poor  little  Frenchman.  She  could 
hardly  stoop  so  low  as  to  try  to  wreak  her  iniy  on  one  whoij^" 
she  knew  was  only  a  servant.  It  would  not  be  in  keeping 
with  her  character  to  do  so.  At  last,  however,  an  idea  occurred 
to  me.  We  three  were,  as  I  think  i  have  said,  much  revered 
by  the  people  of  Zu-Vendis  at  large,  both  because  we  were  the 
first  strangers  they  had  ever  seen,  and  because  we  were  supposed 
to  be  the  possessors  of  almost  supernatural  wisdom.  Indeed, 
though  Sorais'  cry  against  the  '  foreign  wolves ' — o. .  ro  translate 
it  more  accurately,  '  foreign  hyenas  ' — was  sure  to  go  Jown  very 
well  with  the  nobles  and  the  priests,  it  was  not,  as  we  learnt, 


2o6  Allan  QuaUrmain. 

likely  to  be  particularly  effectual  amongst  the  bulk  of  the  p&>pU' 
lation.  The  Zu-Vendi  people,  like  the  Athenians  of  old,  are 
ever  seeking  for  some  new  thing,  and  just  because  we  were  so 
new  our  presence  was  on  the  whole  acceptable  to  them.  Again 
Sir  Henry's  magnificent  personal  appearance  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  a  race  who  possess  a  greater  love  of  beauty  than 
any  other  I  have  ever  been  acquainted  with.  Beauty  may  be 
prized  in  other  countries,  but  in  Zu-Vendis  it  is  almost  worship- 
ped, as  indeed  the  national  love  of  statuary  shows.  The  people 
said  openly  in  the  market-places  that  there  was  not  a  man  in  the 
country  to  touch  Curtis  in  personal  appearance,  as  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Sorais  there  was  no  woman  who  could  compete  with 
Nyleptha,  and  that  therefore  it  was  meet  that  they  should  marry; 
and  that  he  had  been  sent  by  the  Sun  as  a  husband  for  their 
Queen.  Now,  from  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  outcry 
against  us  was  to  a  considerable  extent  fictitious,  and  nobody 
knew  it  better  than  Sorais  herself.  Consequently  it  struck  me 
that  it  might  have  occurred  to  her  that  down  in  the  country 
and  among  the  country  people,  it  would  be  better  to  place  the 
reason  of  her  conflict  with  her  sister  upon  other  and  more  gen- 
eral grounds  than  Nyleptha's  marriage  with  the  stranger.  It 
would  be  easy  in  a  land  where  there  had  been  so  many  civil 
wars  to  rake  out  some  old  cry  that  would  stir  up  the  recollec- 
tion of  buried  feuds,  and,  indeed,  she  soon  found  an  effctual 
one.  This  being  so,  it  was  of  great  importance  to  her  to  have 
one  of  the  strangers  with  her  whom  she  could  show  to  the  com- 
mon people  as  a  great  outlander,  who  had  been  so  struck 
by  the  justice  of  her  cause  that  he  had  elected  to  leave  his 
companions  and  follow  her  standard. 

This  no  doubt  was  the  cause  of  her  anxiety  to  get  hold  of 
Good,  whom  she  would  have  used  till  he  ceased  to  be  of  ser- 
vice and  then  cast  off.  But  Good  having  drawn  back  she 
grasped  at  the  opportunity  of  securing  Alphonse,  who  was  not 
unlike  him  in  personal  appearance  though  smaller,  no  doubt 
with  the  object  of  showing  him  off  in  the  cities  and  country 
as  the  great  Bougwan  himself  I  told  Good  that  I  thought 
that  that  was  her  plan,  and  his  face  was  a  sight  to  see — he 
was  so  horrified  at  the  idea, 

*  What,'  he  said,  *  dress  up  that  little  wretch  to  represent 
me  ?  \Vhy,  I  shall  have  to  get  out  of  the  country  1  My  repu- 
Ufiuon  will  be  ruined  for  ever.' 


A  Strange  Wedding.  207 

I  consoled  him  as  well  as  I  could,  but  it  is  not  pleasant  to 
be  personated  all  over  a  strange  country  by  an  arrant  little  cow- 
ard, and  I  can  quite  sympathise  with  his  vexation. 

Well,  that  night  Good  and  I  messed,  as  I  have  said,  in  solitary 
grandeur,  feeling  very  much  as  though  we  had  just  returned 
from  bur}'ing  a  friend  instead  of  marr}'ing  one,  and  next  morn- 
ing the  work  began  in  good  earnest.  The  messages  and  orders 
which  had  been  despatched  by  Nyleptha  two  days  before  now 
began  to  take  effect,  and  multitudes  of  armed  men  came  pour- 
ing into  the  city.  We  saw,  as  may  be  imagined,  but  very  little 
of  Nyleptha  and  not  too  much  of  Curtis  during  those  next  few 
days,  but  Good  and  I  sat  daily  with  the  council  of  generals  and 
loyal  lords,  drawing  up  plans  of  action,  arranging  commis- 
sariat matters,  the  distribution  of  commands,  and  a  hundred 
and  one  other  things.  Men  came  in  freely,  and  all  the  day 
long  the  great  roads  leading  to  Milosis  were  spotted  with  the 
banners  of  lords  arriving  from  their  distant  places  to  rally  round 
Nyleptha. 

After  the  first  two  days  it  became  clear  that  we  should  be 
able  to  take  the  field  with  about  forty  thousand  infantry  and 
twenty  thousand  cavalry,  a  very  respectable  force  considering 
how  short  was  the  time  we  had  to  collect  it,  and  that  about  half 
of  the  regular  army  had  elected  to  follow  Sorais. 

But  if  our  force  was  large,  Sorais'  was,  according  to  the  re- 
ports brought  in  day  by  day  by  our  spies,  much  larger.  She  had 
taken  up  her  headquarters  at  a  very  strong  town  called  M'Ars- 
tuna,  situated,  as  I  have  said,  to  the  north  of  Milosis,  and  all 
the  country-side  was  flocking  to  her  standard.  Nasta  had 
poured  down  from  his  highlands  and  was  on  his  way  to  join  her 
with  no  less  than  twenty-five  thousand  of  his  mountaineers,  the 
most  terrible  soldiers  to  face  in  all  Zu-Vendis.  Another  mighty 
lord,  named  Belusha,  who  lived  in  the  great  horse-breeding  dis- 
trict, had  come  in  with  twelve  thousand  cavalry,  and  so  on 
Indeed,  what  between  one  thing  and  another,  it  seemed  cer- 
tain that  she  would  gather  a  fully  armed  host  of  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  men. 

And  then  came  news  that  she  was  proposing  to  break  up  her 
camp  and  march  on  the  Frowning  City  itself,  desolating  the 
country  as  she  came.  Thereon  arose  the  question  whether  it 
would  be  best  to  meet  her  at  Milosis  or  to  go  out  and  give  her 
battle.  When  our  opinion  was  asked  upon  the  subject,  Good 
and  I  unhesitatingly  gave  it  in  favour  of  an  advance.     If  wc 


2o8  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

were  to  shut  ourselves  up  in  the  city  and  wait  to  be  attacked  it 
seemed  to  us  that  our  inaction  would  be  set  down  to  fear.  It 
is  so  very  important,  especially  on  an  occa  sion  of  this  sort, 
when  a  very  little  will  suffice  to  turn  men's  opinions  one  way  or 
the  other,  to  be  up  and  doing  something.  Ardour  for  a  cause 
will  soon  evaporate  if  the  cause  does  not  move  but  sits  down  to 
cofjquer.  Therefore  we  cast  our  vote  for  moving  out  and  giving 
battle  in  the  open,  instead  of  waiting  till  we  were  drawn  from 
our  walls  like  a  badger  from  a  hole. 

Sir  Henry's  opinion  coincided  with  ours,  and  so,  needless  to 
say,  did  that  of  Nyleptha,  who,  like  a  flint,  was  always  ready  to 
flash  out  fire.  A  great  map  of  the  country  was  brought  and 
spread  out  before  her.  About  thirty  miles  this  side  of  M'Ars- 
tuna,  where  Sorais  was,  and  ninety  odd  miles  from  Milosis, 
the  road  ran  over  a  neck  of  land  some  two  and  a  half  miles  in 
width,  and  flanked  on  either  side  by  forest-clad  hills  which, 
without  being  lofty,  would  be  quite  impracticable  for  a  great 
baggage-laden  army  to  cross.  She  looked  earnestly  at  the  map, 
and  then,  with  a  quickness  of  perception  that  in  some  women 
amounts  almost  to  an  instinct,  she  laid  her  finger  upon  this  neck 
of  rising  ground,  and  turning  to  her  husband,  said  with  a  proud 
air  of  confidence  and  a  toss  of  the  golden  head — 

*  Here  shalt  thou  meet  Sorais'  armies.  I  know  the  spot, 
here  shalt  thou  meet  them,  and  drive  thera  before  thee  like 
dust  before  the  storm.' 

But  Curtis  looked  grave  and  said  nothing. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    BATTLE     OF   THE    PASS. 

It  was  on  the  third  morning  after  this  incident  of  the  map  that 
Sir  Henry  and  I  started.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  guard, 
all  the  great  host  had  moved  on  the  night  before,  leaving  the 
Frowning  City  very  silent  and  empty.  Indeed,  it  was  found 
impossible  to  leave  any  garrison  with  the  exception  of  a  per- 
sonal guard  for  Nyleptha,  and  about  a  thousand  men  who  from 
sickness  or  one  cause  or  another  were  unable  to  proceed  with 


The  Battle  of  tJie  Pass.  lO^ 

the  army,  but  as  the  place  was  practically  impregnable,  and  as 
our  enemy  was  in  front  of  and  not  behind  us,  this  did  not  so 
much  matter. 

Good  and  Umslopogaas  bad  gone  on  with  the  army,  but 
Nyleptha  accompanied  Sir  Henry  and  myself  to  the  city  gates, 
riding  a  magnificent  white  horse  called  Daylight,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  the  fleetest  and  most  enduring  animal  in  Zu- 
Vendis.  Her  face  bore  traces  of  recent  weeping,  but  there 
were  no  tears  in  her  eyes  now,  indeed  she  was  bearing  up 
bravely  against  what  must  have  been  a  bitter  trial  to  her.  At 
the  gate  she  reined  in  her  horse  and  bade  us  farewell.  On  the 
previous  day  she  had  reviewed  and  addressed  the  officers  of  the 
great  army,  speaking  to  them  such  high,  eloquent  words,  and 
expressing  so  complete  a  confidence  in  their  valour  and  in  their 
ultimate  victory,  that  she  quite  carried  their  hearts  away,  and  as 
she  rode  from  rank  to  rank  they  cheered  her  till  the  ground 
shook.     And  now  to-day  the  same  mood  seemed  to  be  on  her. 

*  Fare  thee  well,  Macumazahn  ! '  she  said.  '  Remember,  I 
trust  to  thy  wits,  which  are  as  a  needle  to  a  spear-handle  com- 
pared to  those  of  my  people,  to  save  us  from  Sorais.  I  know 
that  thou  wilt  do  thy  duty.' 

I  bowed  and  explained  to  her  my  horror  of  fighting,  and  my 
fear  lest  I  should  lose  my  head,  at  which  she  laughed  gently 
and  turned  to  Curtis. 

'  Fare  thee  well,  my  lord  ! '  she  said.  '  Come  back  with  vic- 
tory, and  a  king,  or  on  thy  soldiers'  spears.'  * 

Sir  Henry  said  nothing,  but  turned  his  horse  to  go ;  perhaps 
he  had  a  bit  of  a  lump  in  his  throat.  One  gets  over  it  after- 
wards, but  these  sort  of  partings  are  trying  when  one  has  only 
been  married  a  week. 

'  Here,  added  Nyleptha,  '  will  I  greet  ye  when  ye  return  in 
triumph.     And  now,  my  lords,  once  more,  farewell  1 ' 

Then  we  rode  on,  but  when  we  had  gone  a  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  or  so,  we  turned  and  perceived  her  still  sitting  on  he 
horse  at  the  same  spot,  and  looking  out  after  us  beneath  her 
hand,  and  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  her.  About  a  mile 
farther  on,  however,  we  heard  galloping  behind  us,  and  looking 
round,  saw  a  mounted  soldier  coming  towards  us,  leading  Ny- 
leptha's  matchless  steed — Daylight 

*  Alluding:  to  the  Zu-Vendi  custom  of  carrying  dead  officers  on  a  frame- 
work of  spears.— A.  Q. 
14 


210  Allan  Quatemtain, 

*  The  Queen  sends  the  white  stallion  as  a  farewell  gift  to  her 
Lord  Incubu,  and  bids  me  tell  my  lord  that  he  is  the  fleetest 
and  the  most  enduring  horse  in  all  the  land,'  said  the  soldier, 
bending  to  his  saddle-bow  before  us. 

At  first  Sir  Henry  did  not  want  to  take  the  horse,  saying  that 
he  was  too  good  for  such  rough  work,  but  I  persuaded  him  to 
do  so,  thinking  that  Nyleptha  would  be  hurt  if  he  did  not. 
Little  did  I  guess  at  the  time  what  service  that  noble  horse 
would  render  in  our  sorest  need.  It  is  curious  to  look  back 
and  realize  upon  what  trivial  and  apparently  accidental  circum- 
stances great  events  frequently  turn  as  easily  and  naturally  as  a 
door  on  its  hinges. 

Well,  we  took  the  horse,  and  a  beauty  he  was ;  it  was  a  per- 
fect pleasure  to  see  him  move,  and  Curtis  having  sent  back  his 
greetings  and  thanks  we  proceeded  on  our  journey. 

By  mid-day  we  overtook  the  rear-guard  of  the  great  army  of 
which  Sir  Henry  formally  took  over  the  command.  It  was  a 
heav>'  responsibility,  and  it  oppressed  him  very  much,  but  the 
Queen's  injunctions  on  the  point  were  such  as  did  not  admit  of 
being  trifled  with.  He  was  beginning  to  find  out  that  greatness 
has  its  responsibilities  as  well  as  its  glories. 

Then  we  marched  on  without  meeting  with  any  opposition, 
almost  indeed  without  seeing  anybody,  for  the  populations  of 
the  towns  and  villages  along  our  route  had  for  the  most  part 
fled,  fearing  lest  they  should  be  caught  between  the  two  rival 
armies  and  ground  to  powder  like  grain  between  the  upper  and 
the  nether  stones. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day,  for  the  progress  of  so  great 
a  multitude  was  necessarily  slow,  we  camped  two  miles  this 
side  of  the  neck  or  ridge  I  have  spoken  of,  and  our  outposts 
brought  us  word  that  Sorais  with  all  her  power  was  rolling  down 
upon  us,  and  had  camped  that  night  ten  miles  the  farther  side 
of  the  neck. 

Accordingly  before  dawn  we  sent  forward  fifteen  hundred 
cavalry  to  seize  the  position.  Scarcely  had  they  occupied  it, 
however,  before  they  were  attacked  by  about  as  many  of 
Sorais'  horsemen,  and  a  very  smart  little  cavalr}'  fight  ensued, 
with  a  loss  to  us  of  about  thirty  men  killed.  On  the  advance  of 
our  supports,  however,  Sorais'  force  drew  off",  carrying  their 
dead  and  wounded  with  them. 

The  main  body  of  the  army  reached  the  neck  about  dinner- 
time, and  I  must  say  that  Nyleptha's  judgment  had  not   failed 


The  Battle  of  the  Pass.  2 1 1 

her,  it  was  an  admirable  place  to  give  battle  in,  especially  to  a 

superior  force. 

The  road  ran  doMvn  a  mile  or  more,  through  ground  too  brok- 
en to  admit  of  the  handling  of  any  considerable  force,  till  it 
reached  the  crest  of  a  great  green  wave  of  land,  that  rolled 
down  a  gentle  slope  to  the  banks  of  a  little  stream,  and  then 
rolled  a'.vay  again  up  a  still  gentler  slope  to  the  plain  beyond, 
the  distance  from  the  crest  of  the  land-wave  down  to  the  stream 
being  a  little  over  half  a  mile,  and  from  the  stream  up  to  the 
plain  beyond  a  trifle  less.  The  length  of  this  wave  of  land  at 
its  highest  point,  which  corresponded  exactly  with  the  width  of 
the  neck  of  land  between  the  wooded  hills,  was  about  two  miles 
and  a  quarter,  and  it  was  protected  on  either  side  by  dense, 
rocky,  bush  clad  ground,  that  afforded  a  most  valuable  cover  to 
the  flanks  of  the  army  and  rendered  it  almost  impossible  for 
them  to  be  turned. 

It  was  on  the  hither  slope  of  this  neck  of  land  that  Curtis  en- 
camped his  army  in  the  same  formation  that  he  had,  after  con- 
sultation with  the  various  generals.  Good,  and  myself,  deter- 
mined that  they  should  occupy  in  the  great  pitched  battle  which 
now  appeared  to  be  imminent. 

Our  force  of  sixty  thousand  men  was,  roughly  speaking, 
divided  as  follows.  In  the  centre  was  a  dense  body  of  twenty 
thousand  foot-soldiers,  armed  with  spears,  swords,  and  hippo- 
potamus-hide shields,  breast  and  back  plates.  These  formed 
the  chest  of  the  army,  and  were  supported  by  five  thousand 
foot,  and  three  thousand  horse  in  reserve.  On  either  side  of 
this  chest  were  stationed  seven  thousand  horse  arranged  in  deep 
majestic  squadrons  ;  and  beyond  and  on  either  side  but  slightly 
in  front  of  them  a?ain  were  two  bodies,  numbering  about  seven 
thousand  five  hundred  spearmen  each,  forming  the  right  and 
left  wings  of  the  army,  and  each  supported  by  a  contingent  of 
some  fifteen  hundred  cavalry.  This  makes  in  all  sixty  thousand 
men. 

Curtis  commanded  in  chief,  I  was  in  command  of  the  seven 
thousand  horse  between  the  chest  and  right  wing,  which  was 
commanded  by  Good,  and  the  other  battalions  and  squadrons 
were  entrusted  to  Zu-Vendi  generals. 

Scarcely  had  we  taken  up  our  positions  before  Sorais'  vast 
army  began  to  swarm  on  the  opposite  slope  about  a  mile  in 
front  of  us,  till  the  whole  place  seemed  alive  with  the  multitude 
of  her  spear-points,  and  the  ground  shook  with  the  tramp  of 


212  Allan  Quatermain, 

her  battalions.  It  was  evident  that  the  spies  had  not  exagger- 
ated ;  we  were  outnumbered  by  at  least  a  third.  At  first  we 
expected  that  Sorais  was  going  to  attack  us  at  once,  as  the 
clouds  of  cavalry  which  hung  upon  her  flanks  executed  some 
threatening  demonstrations,  but  she  thought  better  of  it,  and 
there  was  no  fight  that  day.  As  for  the  formation  of  her  great 
forces  I  cannot  now  describe  it  with  accuracy,  and  it  would  only 
serve  to  bewilder  if  I  did,  but  I  may  say,  generally,  that  in  its 
leading  features  it  resembled  our  own,  only  her  reserve  was 
much  greater. 

Opposite  our  right  wing,  and  forming  Sorais'  left  wing,  was  a 
great  army  of  dark,  wild-looking  men,  armed  with  sword  and 
shield  only,  which,  I  was  informed,  was  composed  of  Nasta's 
twenty-five  thousand  savage  hillsmen. 

*  My  word.  Good,'  said  I,  when  I  saw  them,  *  you  will  catch 
it  to-morrow  when  those  gentlemen  charge  ! '  whereat  Good  not 
unnaturally  looked  rather  anxious. 

All  day  we  watched  and  waited,  but  nothing  happened,  and 
at  last  night  fell,  and  a  thousand  watch-fires  twinkled  brightly 
on  the  slopes,  to  wane  and  die  one  by  one  like  the  stars  they 
resembled,  as  the  hours  wore  on  and  the  silence  gradually 
gathered  more  deeply  over  the  opposings  hosts. 

It  was  a  very  wearying  night,  for  in  addition  to  the  endless 
things  that  had  to  be  seen  to,  there  was  our  gnawing  suspense 
to  reckon  with.  The  fray  which  to-morrow  would  witness  would 
be  so  vast,  and  the  slaughter  so  awful,  that  stout  indeed  must 
the  heart  have  been  that  was  not  overwhelmed  at  the  prospect. 
And  when  I  thought  of  all  that  hung  upon  it,  I  own  I  felt  ill, 
and  it  made  me  very  sad  to  reflect  that  these  mighty  forces 
were  gathered  for  destruction,  simply  to  gratify  the  jealous  an- 
ger of  a  woman.  This  was  the  hidden  power  which  was  to 
send  those  dense  masses  of  cavalry,  flashing  like  human  thun- 
derbolts across  the  plain,  and  to  roll  together  the  fierce  battal- 
ions as  clouds  when  hurricane  meets  hurricane.  It  was  a 
dreadful  thought,  and  set  one  wondering  about  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth.  Deep  into  the  night  we 
sat,  with  pale  faces  and  heavy  hearts,  and  took  counsel,  whilst 
the  sentries  tramped  up  and  down,  down  and  up,  and  the 
armed  and  plumed  generals  came  and  went,  grim  and  shadow- 
like. 

And  so  the  time  wore  away,  till  everything  was  ready  for  the 
coming  slaughter ;  and  I  lay  down  and  thought,  and  tried  to 


TJu  Battle  of  tJu  Pass.  213 

get  a  little  rest,  but  could  not  sleep  for  fear  of  the  morrow — for 
who  could  say  what  the  morrow  would  bring  forth  ?  Misery 
and  death,  this  was  certain ;  beyond  that  we  knew  not,  and  I 
con:ess  I  was  very  much  afraid.  But  as  I  realised  then,  it  is 
useless  to  question  that  eternal  Sphinx,  the  future.  From  day  to 
day  she  reads  aloud  the  riddles  of  the  yesterday,  of  which  the 
puzzled  worldlings  of  all  ages  have  not  answered  one,  nor  ever 
will,  guess  they  never  so  wildly  or  cry  they  never  so  loud. 

And  so  at  length  1  gave  up  wondering,  being  forced  humbly 
to  leave  the  issue  in  the  balancing  hands  of  Providence  and  the 
morrow. 

And  at  last  up  came  the  red  sun,  and  the  huge  camps  awoke 
with  a  clash,  and  a  roar,  and  gathered  themselves  together  for 
battle.  It  was  a  beautiful  and  awe-inspiring  scene,  and  old 
Umslopogaas,  leaning  on  his  axe,  contemplated  it  with  grim 
delight 

'  Never  have  I  seen  the  like,  Macumazahn,  never,'  he  said. 
'  The  battles  of  my  people  are  as  the  play  of  children  to  what 
this  will  be.     Thinkest  thou  that  they  will  fight  it  out  ?' 

'  Ay,'  I  answered  sadly,  '  to  the  death.  Content  thyself^ 
"Woodpecker,"  for  once  shalt  thou  find  thy  fill' 

Time  went  on,  and  still  there  was  no  sign  of  an  attack.  A 
force  of  cavalr)'  crossed  the  brook,  indeed,  and  rode  slowly 
along  our  front,  evidently  taking  stock  of  our  position  and  num- 
bers. With  this  we  did  not  attempt  to  interfere,  as  our  decision 
was  to  stand  strictly  on  the  defensive,  and  not  to  waste  a  single 
man.  The  men  breakfasted  and  stood  to  their  arms,  and  the 
hours  wore  on.  About  mid-day,  when  the  men  were  eating 
their  dinner,  for  we  thought  they  would  fight  better  on  fuU 
stomachs,  a  shout  of  *  Sorais,  Sorais,'  arose  like  thunder  from 
the  enemy's  extreme  right,  and  taking  the  glass,  I  was  able  to 
clearly  distinguish  the  '  Lady  ol  the  Night '  herself,  surrounded 
by  a  glittering  staff,  and  riding  slowly  down  the  lines  of  her 
battalions.  And  as  she  went,  that  mighty,  thundermg  shout 
rolled  along  before  her  like  the  rolling  of  ten  thousand  chariots, 
or  the  roaring  of  the  ocean  when  the  gale  turns  suddenly  and 
carries  the  noise  of  it  to  the  listeners'  ears,  till  the  earth  shook, 
and  the  air  was  full  of  the  majesty  of  sound. 

Guessing  that  this  was  a  prelude  to  the  beginning  of  the 
battle  we  remained  still  and  made  ready. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait.  Suddenly,  like  flame  from  a  can- 
non's mouth,  out  shot  two  great   tongue-like  forces  of  cavalry, 


214  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

and  came  charging^  down  the  slope  towards  the  little  stream, 
slowly  at  first,  but  gathering  speed  as  they  came.  Before  they 
got  to  the  stream,  orders  reached  me  from  Sir  Henry,  who  evi- 
dently feared  that  the  shock  of  such  a  charge,  if  allowed  to  fall 
unbroken  upon  our  infantry,  would  be  too  much  for  them,  to 
send  five  thousand  sabres  to  meet  the  force  opposite  to  me,  at 
the  moment  when  it  began  to  mount  the  stiffest  of  the  rise 
about  four  hundred  yards  from  our  lines.  This  I  did,  remain- 
ing behind  myself  v/ith  the  rest  of  my  men. 

Off  went  the  five  thousand  horsemen,  drawn  up  in  a  wedge- 
Hke  form,  and  I  must  say  that  the  general  in  command  handled 
them  very  ably.     Starting  at  a  hand-gallop  for  the  first  three 
hundred  yards,  he  rode  straight  at  the  tip  of  the  tongue-shaped 
mass  of  cavalry  which,   numbering,  so  far  as   I  could  judge, 
about  eight  thousand  sabres,  was  advancing  to  meet  us.     Then 
he  suddenly  swerved  to  the  right  and  put  on  the  pace,  and  I 
saw  the  great  wedge  curl  round,  and  before  the  foe  could  check 
himself,  and  turn  to  meet  it,  strike  him  about  halfway  down 
his  length,  with  a  crashing  rending  sound,  like  the  hreaking-up 
of  vast  sheets  of  ice.     In  sank  the  great  wedge,  into  his  heart, 
and  as  it  cut  its  way  hundreds  of  horsemen  were  thrown  up  on 
either  side  of  it,  just  as  the  earth  is  thrown  up  by  a  plough- 
share, or  more  like  still,  as  the  foaming  water  curls  over  be- 
neath the  bows  of  a  rushing  ship.     In,  yet  in,  vainly  does  the 
tongue  twist  its  ends  round  in  agony,  like  an  injured  snake, 
and  strive  to  protect   its  centre  ;  still    farther  in,  by   Heaven  ! 
right  through,  and  so,  amid  cheer  alter  cheer  from  our  watching 
thousands,   back  again  upon  the  severed  ends,  beating  them 
down,  driving  them   as  a  gale  drives  spray,  till  at  last,  amidst 
the  rushing    of  hundreds  of  riderless    horses,  the   flashing  of 
swords,  and  the  victorious  clamour  of  their  pursuers,  the  great 
force  crumples  up  like  an   empty  glove,  then  turns  and  gallops 
pell-mell  for  safety  to  its  own  lines. 

I  do  not  think  it  reached  them  more  than  two-thirds  as  strong 
as  it  went  out  ten  minutes  before.  The  lines  which  were  now 
advancing  to  the  attack,  opened  and  swallowed  them  up,  and 
my  force  returned,  having  only  suffered  a  loss  of  about  five 
hundred  men,  not  much  I  thought,  considering  the  fierceness 
of  the  struggle.  I  could  also  see  that  the  opposing  bodies  of 
cavalry  on  our  left  wing  were  drawing  back,  but  how  the  fight 
went  with  them  I  do  not  quite  know.  It  is  as  much  as  I  can 
do  to  describe  what  took  place  immediately  around  me. 


The  Battle  of  the  Pass,  215 

"Ev  tbis  lm\c  t\ie  dense  masses  of  the  enemy's  left,  composed 
almost  entirety  ot  Nasta's  swordsmen,  were  across  the  httle 
stream,  and  witn  aliernate  yells  of  *  Nasta '  and  '  Sorais,'  with 
danciiig  banners  and  gleaming  swords,  were  swarming  up  to- 
wards us  'like  anvS. 

Again  I  received  oiGe^s  to  try  and  check  this  movement, 
and  also  the  main  advawce  against  the  chest  of  our  army,  by 
means  of  cavalry  charges,  and  this   I   did  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  by  continually  stric'iV'g  squadrons  of  about  a  thousand 
sabres    out   against  them.      These   squadrons  did  the   enemy 
much   damage,  and  it  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see  them  flash 
down  the  hill-side,  and  biiiy  themselves  like  a  living  knife  in 
the  heart  of  the  foe.     But,  rt.so,  we  lost  many  men,  for  after 
the  experience  of  a  couple  oi  these  charges,  which  had  drawn 
a  sort  of  bloody  St.  Andrew'j  cross  of  dead  and  dying  through 
the    centre  of   Nasta's  host,    our    foes    no   longer   attempted 
to  offer  an  unyielding  front   to  their  irresistible   weight,    but 
opened  out  to  let  the  rush  /^)  through,  throwing  themselves 
on  the  ground  and  hamstrii\gmg  hundreds  of  horses  as  they 
passed. 

And  so,  notwithstanding  all  that  we  could  do,  the  enemy 
drew  nearer,  till  at  last  he  hurled  himself  upon  Good's  force 
of  seven  thousand  five  hundrevl  regulars,  who  were  drawn  up 
to  receive  them  in  three  strong  squares.  About  the  same 
time,  too,  an  awful  and  heartsiiaking  roar  told^me  that  the 
main  battle  had  closed  in  on  the  centre  and  extreme  left.  I 
raised  myself  in  my  stirrups  ana  looked  down  to  my  left ;  so 
for  as  the  eye  could  see  there  was  a  long  dazzling  shimmer 
of  steel  as  the  sun  glanced  upon  falling  sword  and  thrusting 
spear. 

To  and  fro  swung  the  conteuding  lines  in  that  dread  strug- 
gle, now  giving  way,  now  gaining  a  little  in  the  mad  yet 
ordered  confusion  of  attack  and  defence.  But  it  was  as  much 
as  I  could  do  to  keep  count  of  what  was  happening  to  our 
own  wing ;  and,  as  for  the  moment  the  cavalry  had  fallen 
back  under  cover  of  Good's  three  squares,  I  had  a  fair  view 

of  this. 

Nasta's  wild  swordsmen  were  now  breaking  in  red  waves 
against  the  sullen  rock-like  squares.  Time  alter  time  did  they 
yell  out  their  war-cries,  and  hurl  themselves  furiously  against 
the  lon^  triple  ridges  of  spear  points,  onlv  to  be  rolled  back  as 
billows  are  when  they  meet  the  cliff. 


2i6  Allan  Quatermattu 

And  so  for  four  long  hours  the  battle  raged  almost  without 
a  pause,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  \i  we  had  gained  nothing 
we  had  lost  nothing.  Two  attempts  to  turn  our  left  flank  by 
forcing  a  way  through  the  wood  by  which  it  was  protected  had 
been  defeated ;  and  as  yet  Nasta's  swordsmen  had,  nothwith- 
standing  their  desperate  elTorts,  entirely  failed  to  break  Good's 
three  squares,  though  they  had  thinned  their  numbers  by  quite 
a  third. 

As  for  the  chest  of  the  army  where  Sir  Henry  was  with  his 
staff  and  Umslopogaas,  it  had  suffered  dreadfully,  but  it  had 
held  its  own  with  honour,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  our 
left  battle. 

At  last  the  attack  slackened,  and  Sorais'  army  drew  back, 
having,  I  began  to  think,  had  enough  of  it.  On  this  point, 
however,  I  was  soon  undeceived,  for  splitting  up  her  cavalry 
into  comparatively  small  squadrons,  she  charged  us  furiously 
with  them,  all  along  the  line,  and  then  once  more  rolled  her 
tens  of  thousands  of  sword  and  spearmen  down  upon  our 
weakened  squares  and  squadrons  \  Sorais  herself  directing  the 
movement,  and  fearless  as  a  lioness  heading  the  main  attack. 
On  they  came  like  an  avalanche — i  saw  her  golden  helm 
gleaming  in  the  van — our  counter  charges  of  cavalry  entirely 
failing  to  check  their  fonvard  sweep.  Now  they  had  struck 
us,  and  our  centre  bent  in  like  a  bow  beneath  the  weight  of 
their  rush — it  parted,  and  had  not  the  ten  thousand  men  in 
reserve  charged  down  to  its  support  it  must  have  been  de- 
stroyed. As  for  Good's  three  squares,  they  were  swept  back- 
wards like  boats  upon  an  incoming  tide,  and  the  foremost 
one  was  burst  into  and  lost  half  its  remaining  men.  But  the 
effort  was  too  fierce  and  terrible  to  last.  Suddenly  the  battle 
came,  as  it  were,  to  a  turning-point,  and  for  a  minute  or  two 
stood  still. 

Then  it  began  to  move  towards  Sorais'  camp.  Just  then,  too, 
Nasta's  fierce  and  almost  invincible  Highlanders,  either  because 
they  were  disheartened  by  their  losses  or  by  way  of  a  ruse,  fell 
back,  and  the  remains  of  Good's  gallant  squares,  leaving  the 
positions  they  had  held  for  so  many  hours,  cheered  wildly,  and 
rashly  followed  them  down  the  slope,  whereon  the  swarms  of 
swordsmen  turned  to  envelop  them,  and  once  more  flung 
themselves  upon  them  with  a  yell.  Taken  thus  on  every  side, 
what  remained  of  the  first  square  was  quickly  destroyed,  and  I 
perceived  that  the  second,  in  which  I  could  see  Good  himsell 


The  Battle  of  the  Pass.  217 

mounted  on  a  large  horse,  was  on  the  point  of  annihilation. 
A  few  more  minutes  and  it  was  broken,  its  streaming  colours 
sank,  and  1  lost  sight  of  Good  in  the  confused  and  hideous 
slaughter  that  ensued. 

Presently,  however,  a  cream-coloured  horse  with  a  snow-white 
mane  and   tail  burst  from  the  ruins  of  the  square  and  came 
rushing  past  me  riderless  and  with  wide  streaming  reins,  and 
in    it  I    recognised  the  charger  that  Good  had  been   riding. 
Then  I  hesitated  no  longer,  but  taking  with  me  half  my  effec- 
tive cavalry  force,  which  now  amounted  to  between  four  and 
five  thousand  men,  I  commended  myself  to  God,  and,  without 
waiting  for  orders,  I  charged  straight  down  upon  Nasta's  swords- 
men.    Seeing  me  coming,  and  being  warned  by  the  thunder  of 
my  horses'  hoofs,  the  majority  of  them   faced  round,  and  gave 
us  a  right  warm  welcome.     Not  an  inch  would  they  yield  ;  in 
vain  did  we  hack  and  trample  them  down  as  we  ploughed  a 
broad  red  furrow  through  their  thousands  ;  they  seemed  to  re- 
arise  by  hundreds,  driving  their  terrible  sharp  swords  into  our 
horses,  or   severing   their   hamstrings,  and   then  hacking  the 
troopers  who  came  to  the  ground  with  them  almost  into  pieces. 
My  horse  was  speedily  killed  under  me,  but  luckily  I   had  a 
fresh  one,  my  own  favourite,  a  coal-black  mare  Nyleptha  had 
^ven  me  being  held  in  reserve  behind,   and  on  this  I  after- 
wards mounted.     Meanwhile  I  had  to  get  along  as  best  I  could, 
for  I  was  pretty  well  lost  sight  of  by  my  men  in  the  mad  con- 
fusion of  the  moment.     My  voice,  of  course,  could  not  be  heard 
in  the  midst  of  the  clanging  of  steel  and  the  shrieks  of  rage 
and  agony.     Presently  I  found  myself  mixed  up  with  the  rem- 
nants of  the  square,  which  had  formed  round  its  leader  Good, 
and  was  fighting  desperately  lor  existence.     I  stumbled  against 
somebody,  and  glancing  down,  caught  sight  of  Good  s  eyeglass. 
He  had  been  beaten  to  his  knee.     Over  him  was  a  great  fellow 
swinging  a  heavy  sword.     Somehow  I  managed  to  run  the  man 
through  with  the  sime  I  had  taken  from  the  Masai  whose  hand 
I  had  cut  off;  but  as  I  did  so  he  dealt  me  a  frightful  blow  in 
the  left  side  and  breast  witli  the  sword,  and  though  my  chain 
shirt  saved  my  life,  I  feh  that  1  was  badly  hurt.     For  a  minute 
I  fell  on  to  my  hands  and  knees  among  the  dead  and  dying, 
and  turned  sick  and  faint.     When  I  came  to  again  I  saw  that 
Nastas  spearmen,  or  rather  those  of  them  who  remained,  were 
retreating  back  across  the  stream,  and  that  Good  was  there  by 
me  smiling  beamingly. 
N 


2i8  Allan  Quatermain, 

'  Near  go  that,'  he  shouted,  '  but  all's  well  that  ends  well.' 
I  assented,  but  I  could  not  help  feeUng  that  it  had  not  ended 
well  for  me.     I  was  sorely  hurt. 

Just  then  we  saw  the  smaller  bodies  of  cavalry  stationed  on 
our  extreme  right  and  left,  and  which  were  now  reinforced  by 
the  three  thousand  sabres  which  we  had  held  in  reserve,  flash 
out  like  arrows  from  their  posts  and  fall  upon  the  disordered 
flanks  of  Sorais'  forces,  and  that  charge  decided  the  issue  of 
the  battle.  In  another  minute  or  two  the  enemy  was  in  slow 
and  sullen  retreat  across  the  little  stream,  where  they  once  more 
re-formed.  Then  came  another  lull,  during  whick  I  managed 
to  get  my  second  horse,  and  received  my  orders  to  advance 
from  Sir  Henry,  and  then  with  one  fierce  deep-throated  roar, 
with  a  waving  of  banners  and  a  wide  flashing  of  steel,  the  re- 
mains of  our  army  took  the  offensive  and  began  to  sweep  down, 
slowly  indeed,  but  irresistibly,  from  the  positions  they  had  so 
gallantly  held  all  day. 

At  last  it  was  our  turn  to  attack. 

On  we  moved,  over  the  piled-up  masses  of  dead  and  dying, 
and  were  approaching  the  stream,  when  suddenly  I  perceived  an 
extraordinary  sight.  Galloping  wildly  towards  us,  his  arms 
tightly  clasped  around  his  horse's  neck,  against  which  his 
blanched  cheek  was  tightly  pressed,  was  a  man  arrayed  in  the 
full  costume  of  a  Zu-Vendi  general,  but  in  whom,  as  he  came 
nearer,  I  recognised  none  other  than  our  lost  Alphonse.  It  was 
impossible  even  then  to  mistake  those  curling  black  mustachios. 
In  a  minute  he  was  tearing  through  our  ranks  and  narrowly  es- 
caped being  cut  down,  till  at  last  somebody  caught  his  horse's 
bridle,  and  he  was  brought  to  me  just  as  a  momentary  halt  oc- 
curred in  our  advance  to  allow  what  remained  of  our  shattered 
squares  to  form  into  Une. 

'  Ah,  monsieur,'  he  gasped  out  in  a  voice  that  was  nearly 
inarticulate  \^ith  fright,  '  grace  to  the  ?ky,  it  is  you  !  Ah, 
what  I  have  endured  !  But  you  win,  monsieur,  you  win  ; 
they  fly,  the  laches.  But  listen,  monsieur — I  forget,  it  is  no 
good  ;  the  Queen  is  to  be  murdered  to-morrow  at  the  first 
light  in  the  palace  of  Milosis  ;  her  guards  will  leave  their  posts 
and  the  priests  are  going  to  kill  her.  Ah  yes  !  they  little 
thought  it,  but  I  was  ensconced  beneath  a  banner,  and  I  heard 
it  all' 

*  What  ? '  I  said  horror-struck  ;  '  what  do  you  mean  ?' 


The  Battle  of  the  Pass.  219 

*  What  I  say,  monsieur ;  that  devil  of  a  Nasta  he  went  last 
night  to  settle  the  afifair  with  the  Archbishop  [Agon].  The 
guard  will  leave  open  the  little  gate  leading  from  the  great 
stair  and  go  away,  and  Nasta  and  Agon's  priests  will  come  in 
and  kill  her.     Themselves  they  would  not  kill  her.' 

'  Come  with  me,'  I  said,  and,  shouting  to  the  staff-officer 
next  me  to  take  over  the  command,  I  snatched  his  bridle  and 
galloped  as  hard  as  I  could  for  the  spot,  between  a  quarter 
and  a  half  a  mile  off,  where  I  saw  the  royal  pennon  flying, 
and  where  I  knew  that  I  should  find  Curtis  if  he  were  still  alive. 
On  we  tore,  our  horses  clearing  heaps  of  dead  and  dying  men, 
and  splashing  through  pools  of  blood,  on  passed  the  long 
broken  lines  of  spearmen  to  where,  mounted  on  the  white 
stallion  Nyleptha  had  sent  to  him  as  a  parting  gift,  I  saw  Sir 
Henry's  form  towering  above  the  generals  who  surrounded 
him. 

Just  as  we  reached  him  the  advance  began  again.  A  bloody 
cloth  was  bound  around  his  head,  but  I  saw  that  his  eye  was 
as  bright  and  keen  as  ever.  Beside  him  was  old  Umslo- 
pogaas,  his  axe  red  with  blood,  but  looking  quite  fresh  and 
uninjured. 

'  What's  wrong,  Quatermain  ?  '  he  shouted. 

'  Ever}'thing.  There  is  a  plot  to  murder  the  Queen  to-morrow 
at  dawn.  Alphonse  here,  who  ha"^  ]^3t  escaped  from  Sorais,  has 
overheard  it  all,'  and  I  rapidly  repeated  to  him  what  the  French- 
man had  told  me. 

Curtis'  face  turned  deadly  pale  and  his  jaw  dropped. 

'At  dawn,'  he  gasped,  'and  it  is  now  sunset ;  it  dawns  before 
four  and  we  are  nearly  a  hundred  miles  off" — nine  hours  at  the 
outside.     What  is  to  be  done  ?  ' 

An  idea  entered  into  my  head.  '  Is  that  horse  of  yours  fresh  ?' 
I  said. 

'  Yes,  I  have  only  just  got  on  to  him — when  my  last  was 
killed,  and  he  has  been  fed.' 

'  S<^  is  mme.  Get  off  him,  and  let  Umslopogaas  mount ;  he 
can  ride  well.  We  will  be  at  Milosis  before  dawn,  or  if  we  are 
not — well  we  cannot  help  it.  No,  no  ;  it  is  impossible  for  you 
to  leave  now.  You  would  be  seen,  and  it  would  turn  the  fate 
of  the  battle.  It  is  not  won  yet.  The  soldiers  would  think  you 
were  making  a  bolt  of  it.     Quick  now.' 

In  a  moment  he  was  down,  and  at  my  bidding  Umslopogaas 
sprang  into  the  empty  saddle. 


220  Allan  QuatermaifL 

'Now  farewell,'  I  said.  *Send  a  thousand  horsemen  with 
remounts  after  us  in  an  hour  if  possible.  Stay,  despatch  a 
general  to  the  left  wing  to  take  over  the  command  and  explain 
my  absence.' 

*  You  will  do  your  best  to  save  her,  Quatermain  ? '  he  said  in 
a  broken  voice. 

'  Ay,  that  I  will.     Go  on  ;  you  are  being  left  behind.' 

He  cast  one  glance  at  us,  and  accompanied  by  his  staff 
galloped  off  to  join  the  advance,  which  by  this  time  was 
fording  the  little  brook  that  now  ran  red  with  the  blood  of 
the  fallen. 

As  for  Umslopogaas  and  myself,  we  left  that  dreadful  field  as 
arrows  leave  a  bow,  and  in  a  tew  minutes  had  passed  right  out 
of  the  sight  of  slaughter,  the  smell  of  blood  and  the  turmoil  and 
shouting,  which  only  came  to  our  ears  as  a  faint,  far-off  roaring 
like  the  sound  of  distant  breakers. 


CHAPTER  XXI, 

AWAY  !      AWAY  ! 


At  the  top  of  the  rise  we  halted  for  a  second  to  breathe  our 
horses  ;  and,  turning,  glanced  at  the  battle  beneath  us,  which, 
illumined  as  it  was  by  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sinking  sun  stain- 
ing the  whole  scene  red,  looked  from  where  we  were  more  like 
some  wild  titanic  picture  than  an  actual  liand-to-hand  combat. 
The  distinguishing  scenic  effect  from  that  distance  was  the 
countless  distinct  flashes  of  light  reflected  from  the  swords  and 
spears,  otherwise  the  panorama  was  not  so  grand  as  might  have 
been  expected.  The  great  green  lap  of  sward  in  which  the 
struggle  was  being  fought  out,  the  bold  round  outline  oi  the 
hills  behind,  and  the  wide  sweep  of  the  plain  beyond,  seemed 
to  dwarf  it ;  and  what  was  tremendous  enough,  when  one  was 
in  it,  grew  insignificant  when  viewed  from  the  distance.  But  is 
it  not  thus  with  all  the  affairs  and  dom.^s  of  our  race  about 
which  we  blow  the  loud  trumpet,  and  make  such  a  fuss  and  a 
worry  ?     How  utterly  antUke,  and  morally  and  physically  insig- 


Away!  Away!  22 1 

nificant,  must  they  seem  to  the  calm  eyes  that  watch  them  from 
the  arching  depths  above  ! 

*  We  win  the  day,  Macumazahn,'  said  old  Umslopogaas,  tak- 
'r^a  in  the  whole  situation  with  a  glance  of  his  practised  eye. 
'  Look,  the  Lady  of  the  Night's  forces  give  on  every  side, 
there  is  no  stiffness  left  in  them,  they  bend  like  hot  iron,  they 
are  fighting  with  but  half  a  heart.  But  alas  !  the  battle  will  in 
a  manner  be  drawn,  for  the  darkness  gathers,  and  the  regiments 
will  not  be  able  to  follow  and  slay! ' — and  he  shook  his  head 
sadly.  '  But,'  he  added,  '  I  do  not  think  that  they  will  fight 
again,  we  have  fed  them  with  too  strong  a  meat.  Ah  !  it  is  well 
to  have  lived  !     At  last  I  have  seen  a  fight  worth  seeing.' 

By  this  time  we  were  on  our  way  again,  and  as  we  went  side 
by  side  I  told  him  what  our  mission  was,  and  how  that,  if  it 
failed,  all  the  lives  that  had  been  lost  that  day  would  have  been 
lost  in  vain. 

*  Ah  !'  he  said,  *  nigh  on  a  hundred  miles  and  no  horses  but 
these,  and  to  be  there  before  the  dawn !  \Y&\\ — away  !  away  ! 
man  can  but  try,  Macumazahn  ;  and  mayhap  we  shall  be  there 
in  time  to  split  that  old  "  witch-finder's  "  [Agon's]  skull  tor 
him.  Once  he  wanted  to  burn  us,  the  old  "  rain-maker,"  did 
he?  And  now  he  would  set  a  snare  for  my  mother  [Nyleptha], 
would  he  ?  Good !  So  sure  as  my  name  is  the  name  of  the 
Woodpecker,  so  surely,  be  my  mother  alive  or  dead,  will  I  split 
him  to  the  beard.  Ay,  by  T'Chaka's  head  I  swear  it ! '  and  he 
shook  Inkosi-kaas  as  he  galloped.  By  now  the  C  kness  was 
closing  in,  but  fortunately  there  would  be  a  moon  later,  and  the 
road  was  good. 

On  we  sped  through  the  twilight,  the  two  splendid  horses  we 
bestrode  had  got  their  wind  by  this,  and  were  sweeping  along 
with  a  wide  steady  stride  that  neither  failed  nor  varied  for  mile 
upon  mile.  Down  the  sides  of  slopes  we  galloped,  across  wide 
vales  that  stretched  to  the  foot  of  far-off  hills.  Nearer  and 
nearer  grew  the  blue  hills ;  now  we  were  travelling  up  their 
steeps,  and  now  we  were  over  and  passing  towards  others  that 
sprang  up  like  visions  in  the  far  faint  distance  beyond. 

On,  never  pausing  or  drawing  rein,  through  the  perfect  quiet 
of  the  night,  that  was  set  like  a  song  to  the  falling  music  of  our 
horses'  hoofs ;  on,  past  deserted  villages,  where  only  some  for- 
gotten starving  dog  howled  a  melancholy  welcome ;  on,  past 
lonely  moated  dwellings  ;  on,  through  the  white  patchy  moon- 
light, that  lay  coldly   upon   the   wide  bosom   of  the  earth,  as 


222  Allan  Quatermaifu 

though  there  was  no  warmth  in  it ,  on,  knee  to  knee,  tor  noui 

after  hour  ! 

We  spake  not,  but  bent  us  forward  on  the  necks  of  those 
cwo  glorious  horses,  and  listened  to  their  deep,  long-drawn 
breaths  as  they  filled  their  great  lungs,  and  to  the  regular  un- 
faltering ring  of  their  round  hoofs.  Grim  and  black  indeed  did 
old  Umslopogaas  look  beside  me,  mounted  on  the  great  white 
horse,  like  Death  in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  as  now  and 
again  lifting  his  fierce  set  face  he  gazed  out  along  the  road,  and 
pointed  with  his  axe  towards  some  distant  rise  or  house. 

And  so  on,  still  on,  without  break  or  pause  for  hour  after 
hour. 

At  last  I  began  to  feel  that  even  the  splendid  animal  that  I 
rode  was  beginning  to  give  out.  I  looked  at  my  watch  ;  it  was 
nearly  midnight,  and  we  were  considerably  more  than  half  way. 
On  the  top  of  a  rise  was  a  little  spring,  which  I  remembered 
because  I  had  slept  by  it  a  few  nights  before,  and  here  I  mo- 
tioned to  Umslopogaas  to  pull  up,  having  determined  to  give 
the  horses  and  ourselves  ten  minutes  to  breathe  in.  He  did  so, 
and  we  dismounted — that  is  to  say,  Umslopogaas  did,  and  then 
helped  me  off,  for  what  with  fatigue,  stiffness,  and  the  pain  of 
my  wound,  I  could  not  do  so  for  myself ;  and  the  gallant  horses 
stood  panting  there,  resting  first  one  leg  and  then  another, 
while  the  sweat  fell  drip,  drip,  from  them,  and  the  steam  rose 
and  hung  in  pale  clouds  in  the  still  night  air. 

Leaving  Umslopogaas  to  hold  the  horses,  I  hobbled  to  the 

spring  and  drank  deep  of  its  sweet  waters.     I  had  had  nothing 

but  a  single  mou'.hful  of  wine  since  midday,  when  the  battle 

began,  and  I  was  parched  up,  though  my  fatigue  was  too  great 

to  allow  me  to  feel  hungry.     Then,  having  laved  my  fevered 

head  and  hands,  I  returned,   and  the  Zulu  went  and  drank. 

Next  we  allowed  the  horses  to  take  a  couple  of  mouthfuls  each 

— no  more ;  and  oh,  what  a  struggle  we  had  to  get  the  poor 

beasts  away  from  the  water  !     There  were  yet  two  minutes,  and 

I  employed  it  in  hobbling  up  and  down  to  try  and  relieve  my 

stiffness,  and  inspecting  the  condition  of  the  horses.    My  mare, 

gallant  animal  though  she  was,  was  evidently  much  distressed  ; 

she  hung  her  head,  and  her  eye  looked    sick  and  dull  ;  but 

Daylight,  Nyleptha's  glorious  horse — who,  if  he  is  served  aright, 

should,  like  the  steeds  who  saved  the  great  Rameses  in  his 

need,  feed  for  the  rest  of  his  days  out  of  a  golden  manger — 

was  still  comparatively  speaking  perfectly  fresh,  notwithstanding 


Away!  Away!  223 

that  he  had  had  by  far  the  heavier  weight  to  carry.     He  waa 
'tucked  up,'  indeed,  and  his  legs  were  weary,  but  his  eye  was 
bright  and  clear,  and  he  held  his  shapely  head  up  ard  gazed 
out  into  the  darkness  around  him  in  a  way  that  seemed  to  say 
that  whoever  failed  he  was  good  for  those  five-and-forty  miles 
that  yet  lay  between  us  and  Milosis.  Then  Umslopogaas  helped 
me  into  the  saddle  and — vigorous  old  savage  that  he  was  ! — 
vaulted  into  his  own   ^vithout  touching  a  stirrup,  and  we  were 
off  once  more,  slowly  at  first,  till  the  horses  got  into  their  stride, 
and  then  more  swiftly.     So  we  passed  over  another  ten  miles, 
and  then  came  a  long,  weary  rise  of  some  six  or  seven  miles, 
and  three  times  did  my  poor  black  mare  nearly  come  to  the 
ground  with  me.     But  on  the  top  she  seemed  to  gather  herself 
together,  and   rattled   down    the   slope  with  long,  convulsive 
strides,  breathing  in  gasps.     We  did  that  three  or  four  miles 
more  swiftly  than  any  since  we  had  started  on  our  wild  ride, 
but  I  felt  it  to  be  a  last  effort,  and  I  was  right.     Suddenly  my 
poor  horse  took  the  bit  between  her  teeth  and  bolted  furiously 
along  a  stretch  of  level  ground  for  some  three  or  four  hundred 
yards,  and  then,  with  two  or  three  jerky  strides,  pulled  herself 
up  and  fell  with  a  crash  right  on  to  her  head,  I  rolling  myself 
free  as  she  did  so.     As   I  struggled  on  to  my  feet  the  brave 
beast  raised  ber  head  and  looked  at  me  with  piteous  bloodshot 
eyes,  and  then  her   head  dropped  with  a  groan  and  she  was 
dead.     Her  heart  was  broken, 

Umslopogaas  pulled  up  beside  the  carcase,  and  I  looked  at 
him  in  dismay.  There  were  still  more  than  twenty  miles  to  do 
by  dawn,  and  how  were  we  to  do  it  with  one  horse  ?  It 
seemed  hopeless,  but  I  had  forgotten  the  old  Zulu's  extraor- 
dinary running  powers. 

Without  a  single  word  he  sprang  from  the  saddle  and  began 
to  hoist  me  into  it. 

'  What  wilt  thou  do  ? '  I  asked. 

'  Run,'  he  answered,  seizing  my  stirrup-leather. 

Then  off  we  went  again,  almost  as  fast  as  before ;  an-i  oh, 
the  relief  it  was  to  me  to  get  that  change  of  horses  !  Anybody 
who  has  ever  ridden  against  time  will  know  what  it  meant. 

Daylight  sped  along  at  a  long  stretching  hand-gallop,  giving 
the  gaunt  Zulu  a  lift  at  every  stride.  It  was  a  wonderful 
thing  to  see  old  Umslopogaas  run  mile  after  mile,  his  lips 
sUghtly  parted  and  his  nostrils  agape  like  the  horse's.     Every 


224  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

five  miles  or  so  we  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  to  let  him  get  his 
breath,  and  then  flew  on  again. 

'  Canst  thou  go  farther,'  1  said  at  the  third  of  these  stoppages, 
'  or  shall  I  leave  thee  to  follow  me  ?  ' 

He  pointed  with  his  axe  to  a  dim  mass  before  us.     It  was  the 
Temple  of  the  Sun,  now  not  more  than  five  miles  away. 
*  I  reach  it  or  I  die,'  he  gasped. 

Oh,  that  last  five  miles  1     The  skin  was  rubbed  from  the  in- 
side of  my  legs,  and  every  movement  of  my  horse  gave    me 
anguish.     Nor  was  that  all.     I  was  exhausted  with  toil,  want  of 
food  and  sleep,  and  also  suffering  very  much  from  the  blo'v  I 
had  received  on  my  left  side  ;  it  seemed  as  though   a  piece  of 
bone  or  something  was  slowly  piercing  into  my  lung.     Poor 
Daylight,  too,  was  pretty  nearly  finished,  and  no  -v^onder.    But 
there  was  a  smell  of  dawn  in  the  air,   and  we  might  not  stay  ; 
better  that  all  three  of  us  should  die  upon  the  road  than  that 
we  should  linger  while  there  was  life  in  us.     The  air  was  thick 
and  hea\7,  as  it  sometimes  is  before  the  dawn  breaks,  and — an- 
other infallible  sign  in  certain  parts  of  Zu-Vendis  that  sunrise  is 
at  hand — hundreds  of  little  spiders  pendant  on  the  end  of  long 
tough  webs  were  floating  about  in  it.     These  early-rising  crea- 
tures, or  rather  their  webs,  caught  upon   tne  horse's  and  our 
own  forms  by  scores,  and,  as  we  had  neither  the  time  nor  the 
energy  to  brush  them  off,  we  rushed  along  covered  with  hun- 
dreds of  long  grey  threads  that  streamed  out  a  yard  or  more 
behind  us — and  a  ver>'  strange  appearance   they    must   have 
given  us. 

And  no^  before  us  are  the  huge  brazen  gates  of  the  outer 
wall  of  the  Frowning  City,  and  a  new  and  horrible  doubt  strikes 
me  :  What  if  they  will  not  let  us  in  ? 

'  Open  I  Open  I '  1  shout  imperiously,  at  the  same  time 
giving  the  royal  password.  '  Open  /  open  I  a  messenger,  a  mes- 
senger with  tidings  of  the  war  ! ' 

•  What  news  ? '  cried  the  guard.     *  And  who  art  thou  that 

ridest  so  madly,  and  who  is  that  whose  tongue  lolls  out ' — and  it 

actually  did — *  and  who  runs  by  thee  like  a  dog  by  a  chariot  ? ' 

'  It  is  the  Lord  Macumazahn,  and  with  him  is  his  dog,  his 

black  dog.      Open  I  open  I  I  bring  tidings.' 

The  great  gates  ran  back  on  their  rollers,  and  the  drawbridge 
fell  with  a  rattling  crash,  and  we  dashed  on  through  the  one  and 
over  the  other. 

'  What  news,  my  lord,  what  news  ? '  cried  the  guard. 


Away  I  Away!  225 

*  Incubu  rolls  Sorais  back,  as  the  wind  a  cloud,'  I  an'=''yered, 
and  was  gone. 

One  more  effort,  gallant  horse,  and  yet  more  gallant  man  ! 

So,  fall  not  now,  Daylight,  and  hold  thy  life  in  thee  for  fifteen 
short  minutes  more,  old  Zulu  war-dog,  and  ye  shall  both  live 
for  ever  in  the  annals  of  the  land. 

On,  clattering  through  the  sleeping  streets.  We  are  passing 
the  Flower  Temple  now — one  mile  more,  only  one  little  mile — 
hold  on,  keep  your  life  in  ye,  see  the  houses  run  past  of  them- 
selves. Up,  good  horse,  up.  there — but  fifty  yards  now.  Ah  1 
you  see  your  stables  and  stagger  on  gallantly. 

'  Thank  God,  the  palace  at  last  ! '  and  see,  the  first  arrows 
of  the  dawn  are  striking  on  the  temple's  golden  dome.*  But 
shall  I  get  in  here,  or  is  the  deed  done  and  the  way  barred  ? 

Once  more  I  g^ve  the  password  and  shout  *  Oj^cn  I  open  /' 

No  answer,  and  my  heart  grows  ver}'  faint. 

Again  I  call,  and  this  time  a  single  voice  replies,  and  to  my 
joy  I  recognise  it  as  belonging  to  Kara,  a  fellow-officer  of 
Nyleptha's  guards,  a  man  1  know  to  be  as  honest  as  the  light — 
indeed,  the  same  whom  Nyleptha  had  sent  to  arrest  Sorais  on 
the  day  she  fled  to  the  temple. 

'  Is  it  thou,  Kara  ? '  1  cry  ;  *  I  am  Macumazahn.  Bid  the 
guard  let  down  the  bridge  and  throw  wide  the  gate.  Quick, 
quick  ! ' 

Then  followed  a  space  that  seemed  to  me  endless,  but  at 
length  the  bridge  fell  and  one  halt  of  the  gate  opened  and  we 
got  into  the  court>-ard,  where  at  last  poor  Daylight  fell  down 
beneath  me,  as  I  thought,  dead.  1  struggled  free,  and  leaning 
against  a  post  looked  around.  Except  Kara,  there  v.'as  nobody 
to  be  seen,  and  his  look  was  wild,  and  his  garments  were  all  torn. 
He  had  opened  the  gate  and  let  down  the  bridge  alone,  and  was 
now  getting  them  up  and  shut  again  (as,  owing  to  a  ver)'  ingeni- 
ous arrangement  of  cranks  and  levers,  one  man  could  easily  do, 
and  indeed  generally  did  do). 

'  Where  are  the  guard  ? '  I  gasped,  fearing  his  answer  as  1 
never  feared  anything  before. 

'  I  know  not,'  he  answered ;  *  two  hours  ago,  as  I  slept,  was  I 
seized  and  bound  by  the  watch  under  me,  and  but  now,  this  very 

♦  Of  course,  the  roof  of  the  temple  being  so  high,  caught  the  light  some 
time  before  the  breaking  of  the  daw-n. — ^A.  Q. 

IS 


226  Allan  Qiiatermain, 

moment,  have  I  freed  myself  with  my  teeth.     I  fear,  I  greatly 
fear,  that  we  are  betrayed.' 

His  words  gave  me  fresh  energy.  Catching  him  by  the  arm, 
I  staggered,  followed  by  Umslopogaas,  who  reeled  after  us 
like  a  drunken  man,  through  the  courtyards,  up  the  great  hall, 
which  was  silent  as  the  grave,  towards  the  Queen's  sleeping- 
place. 

We  reached  the  first  ante-room — no  gua'-ds  ;  the  second, 
still  no  guards.  Oh,  surely  the  thing  was  done  !  we  were  too 
late  after  all,  too  late !  The  silence  and  solitude  of  those 
great  chambers  was  dreadful,  and  weighed  me  down  like  an 
evil  dream.  On,  right  into  Nyleptha's  chamber  we  rushed  and 
staggered,  sick  at  heart,  fearing  the  very  worst ;  we  saw  there 
was  a  light  in  it,  ay,  and  a  figure  bearing  the  Ught.  Oh,  thank 
God,  it  is  the  White  Queen  herself,  the  Queen  unharmed  1 
There  she  stands  in  her  night  gear,  roused,  by  the  clatter  of  our 
coming,  from  her  bed,  the  heaviness  of  sleep  yet  in  her  eyes, 
and  a  red  blush  of  fear  and  shame  mantlmg  her  lovely  breast 
and  cheek. 

'  W^ho  is  it  ?  '  she  cries,  '  What  means  thir  ?  Oh,  Macu- 
mazahn,  is  it  thou  ?  Why  lookesi  thou  so  wildly  ?  Thou 
comest  as  one  bearing  evil  tidings — and  my  lord — oh  tell  me 
not  my  lord  is  dead — not  dead  ! '  she  wailed,  wrin-ging  her  white 
hands. 

'  I  left  Incubu  wounded,  but  leading  the  advance  against 
Sorais  last  night  at  sundown  .  therefore  let  thy  heart  have  rest. 
Sorais  is  beaten  back  all  along  her  lines,  and  thy  arms  pre- 
vail' 

*  I  knew  it,'  she  cried  in  triumph.  '  I  knew  that  he  would 
win  ;  and  they  called  him  an  outlander,  and  shook  their  wise 
heads  when  I  gave  him  the  command  !  Last  night  at  sundown, 
sayest  thou,  and  it  is  not  yet  dawn  ?     Surely ' 

'Throw  a  cloak  around  thee,  Nyleptha,'  I  broke  in,  'and 
give  us  wine  to  drink ;  ay,  and  call  thy  maidens  quick  if  thou 
wouldst  save  thyself  alive.     Nay,  stay  not.' 

Thus  adjured  she  ran  and  called  through  the  curtains  towards 
some  room  beyond,  and  then  hastily  put  on  her  sandals  and  a 
thick  cloak,  by  which  time  a  dozen  or  so  of  half-dressed  women 
were  pouring  into  the  room. 

'  Follow  us  and  be  silent,'  I  said  to  them  as  they  gazed  with 
wondering  eyes,  clinging  one  to  another.  So  we  went  into  the 
first  ante-room. 


Away!  Away!  227 

'  Now,'  I  said,  *  give  us  wine  to  drink  and  food,  if  ye  have  it, 
for  we  are  near  to  death.' 

The  room  was  used  as  a  mess-room  for  the  officers  of  the 
guards,  and  from  a  cupboard  some  flagons  of  wine  and  some 
cold  flesh  were  brought  forth,  and  Urnslopogaas  and  I  drank, 
and  felt  life  flow  back  into  our  veins  as  the  good  red  wine  went 
down. 

*  Hark  to  me,  Nyleptha,'  I  said,  as  I  put  down  the  empty 
tankard.  '  Hast  thou  here  among  these  thy  waiting-ladies  any 
two  of  discretion  ? ' 

'  Ay,'  she  said,  '  surely.' 

*  Then  bid  them  go  out  by  the  side  entrance  to  any  citizens 
whom  thou  canst  bethink  thee  of  as  men  loyal  to  thee,  and  pray 
them  come  armed,  with  all  honest  folk  that  they  can  gather,  to 
rescue  thee  from  death.  Nay,  question  not ;  do  as  I  say,  and 
quickly.     Kara  here  will  let  out  the  maids.' 

She  turned,  and  selecting  two  of  the  crowd  of  damsels,  re- 
peated the  words  I  had  uttered,  giving  them  besides  a  list  of 
the  names  of  the  men  to  whom  each  should  run. 

*  Go  swiftly  and  secretly ;  go  for  your  very  lives,'  I  added. 
In  another  moment  they  had  left  with  Kara,  whom  I  told  to 

rejoin  us  at  the  door  leading  from  the  great  courtyard  on  to  the 
stairway  as  soon  as  he  had  made  fast  behind  the  girls.  Thither, 
too,  Umslopogaas  and  I  made  our  way,  followed  by  the  Queen 
and  her  women.  As  we  went  we  tore  off  mouthfuls  of  food,  and 
between  them  I  told  her  what  I  knew  of  the  danger  which  en- 
compassed her,  and  how  we  had  found  Kara,  and  how  all  the 
guards  and  men-servants  were  gone,  and  she  was  alone  with  her 
women  in  that  great  place ;  and  she  told  me,  too,  that  a  rumour 
had  spread  through  the  town  that  our  army  had  been  utterly 
destroyed,  and  that  Sorais  was  marching  in  triumph  on  Milosis, 
and  how  in  consequence  thereof  all  men  had  fallen  away  from 
her. 

Though  all  this  takes  some  time  to  tell,  we  had  not  been  but 
six  or  seven  minutes  in  the  palace ;  and,  notwithstanding  that 
the  golden  roof  of  the  temple  being  very  lofty  was  ablaze  with 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  it  was  not  yet  dawn,  nor  would  be  for 
another  ten  minutes.  We  were  in  the  courtyard  now,  and  here 
my  wound  pained  me  so  that  I  had  to  take  Nyleptha's  arm, 
while  Um.slopogaas  rolled  along  after  us,  eating  as  he  went 

Now  we  were  across  it,  and  had  reached  the  narrow  door- 
way through  the  palace  wall  that  opened  on  to  the  mighty  stair. 


22S  Allan  Quaterntain. 

I  looked  through  and  stood  aghast,  as  well  I  might.  Tl^e 
door  was  gone,  and  so  were  the  outer  gates  of  bronze — enL.'>  y 
gone.  They  had  been  taken  from  their  hinges,  and  as  ac 
afterwards  found,  hurled  from  the  stairway  to  the  ground  two 
hundred  feet  beneath.  There  in  front  of  us  was  the  semi-cir- 
cular standing-space,  about  twice  the  size  of  a  large  oval  dining- 
table,  and  the  ten  curved  black  marble  steps  leading  on  to  the 
main  stair — and  that  was  alL 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

HOW    UMSLOPOGAAS    HELD   THE   STAIR. 

We  looked  one  at  another. 

'  Thou  seest,'  I  said,  '  they  have  taken  away  the  door.  Is 
there  aught  with  which  we  may  fill  the  place  ?  Speak  quickly, 
for  they  will  be  on  us  ere  the  daylight.'  I  spoke  thus,  because 
I  knew  that  we  must  hold  this  place  or  none,  as  there  were  no 
inner  doors  in  the  palace,  the  rooms  being  separated  one  from 
another  by  curtains.  I  also  knew  that  if  we  could  by  any 
means  defend  this  doorway  the  murderers  could  get  in  nowhere 
else ;  for  the  palace  is  absolutely  impregnable,  that  is,  since  the 
secret  door  by  which  Sorais  had  entered  on  that  memorable 
night  of  attempted  murder  had,  by  Nyleptha's  order,  been 
closed  up  with  masonry. 

'I  have  it,'  said  Nyleptha,  who,  as  usual  with  her,  rose  to  the 
emergency  in  a  wondcriul  way.  '  On  the  farther  side  of  the 
courtyard  are  blocks  of  cut  marble — the  workmen  brought  them 
there  for  the  bed  of  the  new  statue  of  Incubu,  my  lord  ;  let  us 
block  the  door  with  them.' 

I  jumped  at  the  idea  ;  and  having  despatched  one  of  the  re- 
maining maidens  down  the  great  stair  to  see  it  she  could  obtain 
assistance  from  the  docks  below,  where  her  father,  who  was  a 
great  merchant  employing  many  men,  had  his  dwelling-place, 
and  set  another  to  watch  through  the  doorway,  we  made  our  way 
back  across  the  courtyard  to  where  the  hewn  marble  lay  ;  and 
here  we  met  Kara  returning  from  despatching  the  first  two 
messengers.     There   were   the   marble    blocks,    sure    enough, 


How  Umslopogcias  held  tJie  Stairs.  229 

broad,  massive  lumps,  some  six  inches  thick,  and  weighing 
about  eighty  pounds  each,  and  there,  too,  were  a  couple  of 
implements  like  small  stretchers,  that  the  workmen  used  to 
carry  them  on.  Without  delay  \*e  got  some  of  the  blocks  on 
the  stretchers,  and  four  of  the  girls  carried  them  to  the  door- 
way. 

'  Listen,  Macumazahn,'  said  Umslopogaas,  '  if  these  low  fel- 
lows come,  it  is  I  who  will  hold  the  stair  against  them  till  the 
door  is  built  up.  Nay,  nay,  it  will  be  a  man's  death,  gainsay 
me  not,  old  friend.  It  has  been  a  good  day,  let  it  now  be  good 
night.  See,  I  throw  myself  down  to  rest  on  the  marble  there  ; 
when  their  footsteps  are  nigh,  wake  thou  me,  not  before,  for  I 
need  my  strength,'  and  without  a  word  he  went  outside  and 
flung  himself  down  on  the  marble,  and  was  instantly  asleep. 

At  this  time,  I  too  was  overcome,  and  was  forced  to  sit 
down  by  the  doorway,  and  content  myself  with  directing  oper- 
ations. The  girls  brought  the  blocks,  while  Kara  and  Nyleptha 
built  them  up  across  the  six-foot-wide  doorway,  a  triple  row  of 
them,  for  less  would  be  useless.  But  the  marble  had  to  be 
brought  forty  yards,  and  then  there  were  forty  yards  to  run 
back,  and  though  the  girls  laboured  gloriously,  even  staggering 
along  alone,  each  with  a  block  in  her  arms,  it  was  slow  work, 
dreadfully  slow. 

The  light  was  growing  now,  and  pr^oently,  in  the  silence, 
we  heard  a  commotion  at  the  far-off  bottom  of  the  stair,  and 
the  faint  clanking  of  armed  men.  As  yet  the  wall  was  only  two 
feet  high,  and  we  had  been  eight  minutes  at  the  building  of  it. 
So  they  had  come.     Alphonse  had  heard  aright 

The  clanking  sound  came  nearer,  and  in  the  ghostly  grey  of 
the  dawning  we  could  make  out  long  files  of  men,  some  fifty 
or  so  in  all,  slowly  creeping  up  the  stair.  They  were  now  at 
the  half-way  standing  place  that  rested  on  the  great  flying  arch  ; 
and  here,  perceiving  that  something  was  going  on  above,  they, 
to  our  great  gain,  halted  for  three  or  four  minutes  and  consult 
ed,  then  slowly  and  cautiously  advanced  again. 

We  had  been  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  the  work  now, 
and  it  was  almost  three  feet  high. 

Then  I  awoke  Umslopogaas.  The  great  man  rose,  stretched 
himself,  and  swung  Inkosi-kaas  round  his  head. 

'  It  is  well,'  he  said.  *  I  feel  as  a  young  man  once  more. 
My  strength  has  come  back  to  me,  ay,  even  as  a  lamp  flares  up 


230  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

before  it  dies.     Fear  not,  I  shall  fight  a  good  fight ;  the  wine 
and  the  sleep  have  put  a  new  heart  into  me. 

'  Macumazahn,  I  have  dreamed  a  dream.  I  dreamed  that 
thou  and  I  stood  together  on  a  star,  and  looked  down  on  the 
world,  and  thou  wast  as  a  spirit,  Macumazahn,  for  light  flamed 
through  thy  flesh,  but  I  could  not  see  what  was  the  fashion  of 
mine  own  face.  The  hour  has  come  for  us,  old  hunter.  So 
be  it :  we  have  had  our  time,  but  I  would  that  in  it  I  had  seen 
some  more  such  fights  as  yesterday's. 

'  Let  them  bury  me  after  the  fashion  of  my  people,  Macuma- 
zahn, and  set  my  eyes  towards  Zululand  ; '  and  he  took  my 
hand  and  shook  it,  and  then  turned  to  face  the  advancing  foe. 
Just  then,  to  my  astonishment,  the  Zu-Vendi  officer  Kara 
clambered  over  our  improvised  wall  in  his  quiet,  determined 
sort  of  way,  and  took  his  stand  by  the  Zulu,  unsheathing  his 
sword  as  he  did  so. 

'  What,  comest  thou  too  ? '  laughed  out  the  old  warrior. 
*  Welcome — a  welcome  to  thee,  brave  heart !  Ow  !  for  the 
man  who  can  die  hke  a  man ;  ow  !  for  the  death  grip  and  the 
ringing  of  steel.  Ow  1  we  are  ready.  We  wet  our  beaks  like 
eagles,  our  spears  flash  in  the  sun  ;  we  shake  our  assegais,  and 
are  hungry  to  fight.  \Vlio  comes  to  give  greeling  to  the  Chief- 
tainess  [inkosi-kaas]  ?  Who  would  taste  her  kiss,  whereof  the 
fruit  is  death  ?  I,  tu**  Woodpecker,  I,  the  Slaughterer,  I,  the 
Swiftfooted  !  I,  Umslopogaas,  of  the  tribe  of  the  Maquilisini, 
of  the  people  of  Amazulu,  a  captain  of  the  regiment  of  the 
Nkomabakosi  :  I,  Umslopogaas,  the  son  of  Indabazimbi,  the 
son  of  Arpi,  the  son  of  Mosilikaatze,  I  of  the  royal  blood  of 
T'Chaka,  I  of  the  King's  House,  I  the  Ringed  Man,  I  the  In- 
duna,  I  call  to  them  as  a  buck  calls,  I  challenge  them,  I  await 
them.     Ow  !  it  is  thou,  it  is  thou  ! ' 

As  he  opake,  or  rather  chanted,  his  wild  war-song,  the  armed 
men,  among  whom  in  the  growing  light  I  recognised  botli  Nasta 
and  Agon,  came  streammg  up  the  stair  with  a  rush,  and  one 
big  fellow,  armed  with  a  heavy  spear,  dasl^ed  up  the  ten  semi- 
circular steps  ahead  of  his  comrades  and  struck  at  the  great 
Zulu  with  the  spear.  Umslopogaas  moved  his  body  but  not 
his  legs,  so  that  the  blow  missed  him,  and  next  instant  Inkosi- 
kans  crashed  through  headpiece,  hair  and  skull,  and  the  man's 
corpse  was  rattling  down  the  steps.  As  he  dropi)ed,  his  round 
hippopotamus-hide  shield  fell  trom  his  hand  on  the  marble. 


How  Umslopogaas  keld  the  Stairs,  231 

and  the  Zulu  stooped  down  and  seized  it,  still  chanting  as  he 
did  so. 

In  another  second  the  sturdy  Kara  had  also  slain  a  man, 
and  then  began  a  scene  the  like  of  which  has  not  been  known 
to  me. 

Up  rushed  the  assailants,  one,  two,  three  at  a  time,  and  as 
fast  as  they  came,  the  axe  crashed  and  the  sword  swung,  and 
down  they  rolled  again,  dead  or  dying.  And  ever  as  the  fight 
thickened,  the  old  Zulu's  eye  seemed  to  get  quicker  and  his  arm 
stronger.  He  shouted  out  his  war-cries  and  the  names  of  chiefs 
whom  he  had  slain,  and  the  blows  of  his  awful  axe  rained 
straight  and  true,  shearing  through  everything  they  fell  on. 
There  was  none  of  the  scientific  method  he  was  so  fond  of 
about  this  last  immortal  fight  of  his  ;  he  had  no  time  for  it,  bul 
struck  with  his  full  strength,  and  at  ever}'  stroke  a  man  sank  in 
his  tracks,  and  went  rattling  down  the  marble  steps. 

They  hacked  and  hewed  at  him  with  swords  and  spears, 
wuunding  him  in  a  dozen  places  till  he  streamed  red  with 
blood  ;  but  the  shield  protected  his  head  and  the  chain-shirt  his 
vitals,  and  for  minute  after  minute,  aided  by  the  gallant  Zu- 
Vendi,  he  still  held  the  stair. 

At  last  Kara's  sword  broke,  and  he  grappled  with  a  foe,  and 
they  rolled  down  together,  and  he  was  cut  to  pieces,  dying  like 
the  brave  man  that  he  was. 

Umslopogaas  was  alone  now,  but  he  never  blenched  or  turned. 
Shouting  out  some  wild  Zulu  battle-cry,  he  beat  down  a  foe,  ay, 
and  another,  and  another,  till  at  last  they  drew  back  from  the 
slippery  blood-stained  steps,  and  stared  at  him  in  amazement, 
thinking  that  he  was  no  mortal  man. 

The  wall  of  marble  block  was  four  feet  six  high  now,  and 
hope  rose  in  my  heart  as  I  leaned  there  against  it  a  miserable, 
helpless  log,  and  ground  my  teeth,  and  watched  that  glorious 
struggle.  I  could  do  no  more  for  I  had  lost  my  revolver  in 
the  batde. 

And  old  Umslopogaas,  he  leaned  too  on  his  good  axe,  and, 
faint  as  he  was  with  wounds,  he  mocked  them,  he  called  them 
'  women  ' — the  grand  old  warrior,  standing  there  one  against  so 
many  !  And  for  a  breathing  space  none  would  come  against 
him,  notwithstanding  Nasta's  exhortations,  till  at  last  old  Agon, 
who,  to  do  him  justice,  was  a  brave  man,  mad  with  baffled 
flge,  and  seeing  that  the  wall  would  soon  be  built  and  his  plans 


232  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

defeated,  shook  the  great  spear  he  held,  and  rushed  up  the 
dripping  steps. 

'  Ail,  ah  ! '  shouted  the  Zulu,  as  he  recognised  the  priest's 
flc^wing  white  beard,  '  it  is  thou,  old  "  witch-finder ! "  Come 
on  i  I  await  thee,  white  "  medicine-man  ;"  come  on  !  come 
on !     I  have  sworn  to  slay  thee,  and  I  ever  keep  my  faith.' 

On  he  came,  takina;  him  at  his  word,  and  drave  the  big 
spear  with  such  force  at  Umslopogaas  that  it  sunk  right  through 
the  tough  shield  and  pierced  him  in  the  neck.  The  Zulu  cast 
down  the  transfixed  shield,  and  that  moment  was  Agon's  last, 
for  before  he  could  free  his  spear  and  strike  again,  with  a  shout 
of  *  Therms  for  thee,  Rain-7naker  I '  Umslopogaas  gripped  In- 
kosi-kaas  with  both  hands  and  whirled  her  on  higrh  and  drave 

O 

her  right  on  to  his  venerable  head,  so  that  Agon  rolled  down 
dead  among  the  corpses  of  his  fellow-murderers,  and  there  was 
an  end  of  him  and  his  plots  together.  And  even  as  he  fell,  a 
great  cry  rose  from  the  foot  of  the  stair,  and  looking  out  through 
the  portion  of  the  doorway  that  was  yet  unclosed,  we  saw 
armed  men  rushing  up  to  the  rescue,  and  called  an  answer  to 
their  shouts.  Then  the  would-be  murderers  who  yet  remained 
on  the  stairway,  and  amongst  whom  I  saw  several  priests,  turn- 
ed to  fly,  but,  having  nowhere  to  go,  were  butchered  as  they 
fled.  Only  one  man  stayed,  and  he  was  the  great  lord  Nasta, 
Xyleptha's  suitor,  and  the  lather  of  the  plot.  For  a  moment  the 
black-bearded  Nasta  stood  with  bowed  face  leaning  on  his  long 
sword  as  though  in  despair,  and  then,  with  a  dreadful  shout,  he 
too  rushed  up  at  the  Zulu,  and,  swinging  the  glittering  sword 
around  his  head,  dealt  him  such  a  mighty  blow  beneath  his 
guard,  that  the  keen  steel  of  the  heavy  blac[ie  bit  right  through 
the  chain  armour  and  deep  into  Umslopogaas'  side,  for  a  mo- 
ment paralysing  him  and  causing  him  to  drop  his  axe. 

Raising  the  sword  again,  Nasta  sprang  forward  to  make  an 
end  of  him,  but  little  he  knew  his  foe.  With  a  shake  and  a 
yell  of  fury,  the  Zulu  gathered  himself  together  and  sprang 
straight  at  Nasta's  throat,  as  I  have  sometimes  seen  a  wounded 
lion  sirring.  He  struck  him  full  as  his  foot  v.  as  on  the  topmost 
stair,  and  his  long  arms  closing  round  him  like  bands,  down 
they  rolled  together  struggling  furiously.  Nasta  uas  a  strong 
man  and  a  desperate,  but  he  could  not  match  the  strongest 
man  in  Zululand,  sore  wounded  though  he  was,  whose  strength 
was  as  the  strength  of  a  bull.  In  a  minute  the  end  came.  I 
saw  old  Umslopogaas  stagger  to  his  feet — ay,  and  saw  him  by 


How  Umslopogaas  htld  the  Stair,  233 

a  single  gigantic  eflfort  swing  up  the  struggling  Nasta  and  with 
a  shout  of  triumph  hurl  him  straight  over  the  parapet  of  the 
bridge,  to  be  crushed  to  powder  on  the  rocka  two  hundred  feet 
below. 

The  succour  which  had  been  summoned  by  the  girl  who  had 
passed  down  the  stair  before  the  assassins  passed  up  was  at 
hand,  and  the  loud  shouts  which  reached  us  from  the  outer 
gates  told  us  that  the  town  was  also  aroused,  and  the  men 
awakened  by  the  women  were  calling  to  be  admitted.  Some  of 
Nyleptha's  brave  ladies,  who  in  their  night-shifts  and  with  their 
long  hair  streaming  down  their  backs,  just  as  they  had  been 
aroused  from  rest,  had  worked  so  gallantly  at  blocking  the  pass- 
age through  the  wall,  went  oflf  to  admit  them  at  the  side  en- 
trance, whilst  others,  assisted  by  the  rescuing  party  outside, 
pushed  and  pulled  down  the  marble  blocks  they  had  placed 
there  with  so  much  labour. 

Soon  the  wall  was  down  again,  and  through  the  doorway,  fol- 
lowed by  a  crowd  of  rescuers,  staggered  old  Umslopogaas,  an 
awful  and,  in  a  way,  a  glorious  figure.  The  man  was  a  mass  of 
wounds,  and  a  glance  at  his  \\ald  eye  told  me  that  he  was  dying. 
The  'keshla'  gum-ring  upon  his  head  was  severed  in  two 
places  by  sword-cuts,  one  just  over  the  curious  hole  in  his  skull, 
and  the  blood  poured  down  his  face  from  the  gashes.  Also  on 
the  right  side  of  his  neck  was  a  stab  from  a  spear,  inflicted  by 
Agon ;  there  was  a  deep  cut  on  his  left  arm  just  below  where 
the  mail  shirt-sleeve  stopped,  and  on  the  right  side  of  his  body 
the  armour  was  severed  by  a  gash  six  inches  long,  where  Nasta's 
mighty  sword  had  bitten  through  it  and  deep  into  its  wearer's 
vitak. 

On,  axe  in  hand,  he  staggered,  that  dreadful-looking,  splendid 
savage,  and  the  ladies  forgot  to  turn  faint  at  the  scene  of  blood, 
and  cheered  him,  as  well  they  might,  but  he  never  stayed  or 
heeded.  With  outstretched  arms  and  tottering  gait  he  pursued 
his  way,  followed  by  us  all  along  the  broad  shell-strewn  walk 
that  ran  through  the  courtyard,  past  the  spot  where  the  blocks 
of  marble  lay,  through  the  round  arched  doorway  and  the  thick 
curtains  that  hun^  within  it,  down  the  short  passage  and  into  the 
great  hall,  which  was  now  filling  with  hastily-armed  men,  who 
poured  through  the  side  entrance.  Straight  up  the  hall  he 
went,  leaving  behind  him  a  track  of  hlood  on  the  marble  pave- 
ment, till  at  last  he  reached  the  sacred  stone,  which  stood  in 
the  centre  of  it,  and  here  his  strength  seemed  to  fail  him,  for 
O 


234  Allan  Quatermaitu 

he  stopped  and  leaned  upon  his  axe.     Then  suddenly  he  lifted 
up  his  voice  and  cried  aloud — 

*  I  die,  I  die — but  it  was  a  kingly  fray.  Where  are  they  who 
came  up  the  great  stair  ?  I  see  them  not.  Art  thou  there, 
Macumazahn,  or  art  thou  gone  before  to  wait  for  me  in  the  dark 
whither  I  go  i*  The  blood  bhnds  me — the  place  turns  rounds 
I  hear  the  voice  of  waters.' 

Next,  as  though  a  new  thought  had  struck  him,  he  lifted  the 
red  axe  and  kissed  the  blade. 

'  Farewell,  Inkosi-kaas,'  he  cried.  *  Nay,  nay,  we  will  go  to- 
gether ;  we  canncl  part,  thou  and  I.  We  have  lived  too  long, 
one  with  another,  thou  and  I. 

'  One  more  stroke,  only  one  !  A  good  stroke  !  a  straight 
stroke !  a  strong  stroke  I '  and,  drawing  himself  to  his  full 
height,  with  a  wild  heart-shaking  shout,  he  with  both  hands  be- 
gan to  whirl  the  axe  round  his  head  till  it  looked  like  a  circle  of 
flaming  steel.  Then,  suddenly,  with  awful  force  he  brought  it 
down  straight  on  to  the  crown  of  the  mass  of  sacred  stone.  A 
shower  of  sparks  flew  up,  and  such  was  the  almost  superhuman 
strength  of  the  blow,  that  the  mass  of  marble  split  with  a  rend- 
ing sound  into  a  score  of  pieces,  whilst  of  Inkosi-kaas  there 
remained  but  some  fragments  of  steel  and  a  fibrous  rope  of 
shattered  horn  that  had  been  the  handle.  Down  with  a  crash 
on  to  the  pavement  fell  the  fragments  of  the  holy  stone,  and 
down  with  a  crash  on  to  them,  still  grasping  the  knob  of  Inkosi- 
kaas,  fell  the  brave  old  Zulu — dead.  And  thus  the  hero  died. 
A  gasp  of  wonder  and  astonishment  rose  from  all  those  who 
witnessed  the  extraordinarj'  sight,  and  then  somebody  cried, 
'  The  prophecy  t  the  prophecy  I  He  has  shattered  the  sacred 
stone  ! '  and  at  once  a  murmuring  arose. 

'Ay,'  said  Nyleptha,  with  that  quick  wit  which  distinguishes 
her.  *  Ay,  my  people,  he  has  shattered  the  stone,  and  behold 
the  prophecy  is  fulfilled,  for  a  stranger  king  rules  in  Zu-Vendis. 
Incubu,  my  lord,  hath  beat  Sorais  back,  and  I  fear  her  no 
more,  and  to  him  who  hath  saved  the  Crown  it  shall  surely  be. 
And  this  man,'  she  said,  turning  to  me  and  laying  her  hand 
u[^)on  my  shoulder,  *  wot  ye  that,  though  wounded  in  the  fight 
of  yesterday,  he  rode,  with  that  old  warrior  who  lies  there,  one 
hundred  miles  'twixt  sun  set  and  rise  to  save  me  from  the 
r^ots  of  cruel  'Tien.  Ay,  and  he  has  saved  me,  by  a  very  little, 
a:.  .  :hcrc:ure  because  of  the  deeds  that  they  have  done — 
4eedf  of  glory  such  as  our  history  cannot  show  the  like — there- 


How  Umslopogaas  kcld  the  Stair.  23  5 

fore  I  say  that  the  name  of  Macumazahn  and  the  name  of  dead 
Umslopogaas,  ay,  and  the  name  of  Kara',  my  servant,  who  aid- 
ed him  to  hold  the  stair,  shall  be  blazoned  in  letters  of  gold 
above  my  throne,  and  shall  be  glorious  forever  while  the  land 
endures.     I,  the  Queen,  have  said  it.' 

This  spirited  speech  was  met  with  loud  cheering,  and  I  said 
that  after  all  we  had  only  done  our  duty,  as  it  is  the  fashion  of 
both  Englishmen  and  Zulus  to  do,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
make  an  outcry  about ,  at  which  they  cheered  still  more,  and 
then  I  was  supported  across  the  outer  courtyard  to  my  old 
quarters,  in  order  that  I  might  be  put  to  bed.     As  I  went,  my 
eyes  lit  upon  the  brave  horse  DayHght  that  lay  there,  his  white 
head  outstretched  on  the  pavement,  exactly  as  he  had  fallen  on 
entering  the  yard ;  and  I  bade  those  who  supported  me  take 
me  near  him,  that  I  might  look  on  the  good  beast  once  more 
before  he  was  dragged  away.   And  as  I  looked,  to  my  astonish- 
ment he  opened  his  eyes  and,  lifting  his  head  a  little,  whinnied 
faintly.     I  could  have  shouted  for  joy  to  find  that  he  was  not 
dead,  only  unfortunately  I  had  not  a  shout  left  in  me  ;  but  as 
it  was,  grooms  were  sent  for  and  he  was  Hfted  up  and  wine 
poured  down  his  throat,  and  in  a  fortnight  he  was  as  well  and 
strong  as  ever,  and  is  the  pride  and  joy  of  all  the  people  of 
Milosis,  who,  whenever  they  see  him,  point  him  out  to  the  little 
children  as  the  *  horse  which  saved  the  White  Queen's  life.' 

Then  I  went  on  and  got  off  to  bed,  and  was  washed  and 
had  my  mail  shirt  removed.  They  hurt  me  a  good  deal  in 
getting  it  off,  and  no  wonder,  for  on  my  left  breast  and  side 
was  a  black  bruise  the  size  of  a  saucer. 

The  next  thing  that  I  remember  was  the  tramp  of  horsemen 
outside  the  palace  wall,  some  ten  hours  later.  I  raised  myself 
and  asked  what  was  the  news,  and  they  told  me  that  a  large 
body  of  cavalry  sent  by  Curtis  to  assist  the  Queen  had  arrived 
from  the  scene  of  the  battle,  which  they  had  left  two  hours 
after  sundown.  When  they  left,  the  wreck  of^.  Sorais'  army 
was  in  full  retreat  upon  M'Arstuna,  followed  by  all  our  effec- 
tive cavalry.  Sir  Henry  was  encamping  the  remains  of  his 
worn-out  forces  on  the  site  (such  is  the  fortune  of  war)  that 
Sorais  had  occupied  the  night  before,  and  proposed  marching 
on  to  M'Arstuna  on  the  morrow.  Having  beard  this,  I  felt 
that  T  could  die  with  a  light  heart,  and  then  everything  became 
a  blank. 


236  Allan  Qiiatennain, 

When  next  I  awoke  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  the  round 
disc  ot  a  sympathetic  eye-glass,  behind  which  was  Good. 

'  How  are  you  getting  on,  old  chap  ?  '  said  a  voice  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  eye-glass. 

'  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  '  I  asked  faintly.  '  You  ought 
to  be  at  M'Arstuna — have  you  run  away,  or  what?' 

*  M'Arstuna,'  he  replied  cheerfully.  '  Ah,  M'Arstuna  fell  last 
week — you've  been  unconscious  for  a  fortnight,  you  see — with 
all  the  honours  of  war,  you  know,  trumpets  blowing,  flags  flying, 
just  as  though  they  had  the  best  of  it,  but  for  all  that,  weren't 
they  glad  to  go.  Israel  made  for  his  tents,  I  can  tell  you — 
never  saw  such  a  sight  in  my  hfe.' 

*  And  Sorais  ?  '  1  asked. 

*  Sorais — oh,  Sorais  is  a  prisoner ;  they  gave  her  up,  the 
scoundrels,'  he  added,  with  a  change  of  tone — '  sacrificed  the 
Queen  to  save  their  skins,  you  see.  She  is  being  brought  up 
here,  and  1  don't  know  what  will  happen  to  her,  poor  soul  !  ' 
and  he  sighed. 

'  Where  is  Curtis  ? '  I  asked. 

*  He  is  with  Nyleptha.  She  rode  out  to  meet  us  to-day,  and 
there  was  a  grand  to  do,  I  can  tell  you.  He  is  coming  to  see 
you  to-morrow ;  the  doctors  (for  there  is  a  medical  "  faculty  " 
in  Zu-Vendis  as  elsewhere)  thought  that  he  had  better  not  come 
to-day.' 

1  said  nothing,  but  somehow  I  thought  to  myself  that 
notwithstanding  the  doctors  he  might  have  given  me  a  look  ; 
but  there,  when  a  man  is  newly  married  and  has  just  gained  a 
great  victory  he  is  apt  to  listen  to  the  advice  of  doctors,  and 
quite  right  too. 

Just  then  I  heard  a  familiar  voice  informing  me  that 
'  Monsieur  must  now  couch  himself,'  and  looking  up  perceived 
Alphonse's  enormous  black  mustachios  curling  away  in  the 
distance. 

*  So  you  are  here  ? '  1  said. 

*  Mais  oui.  Monsieur ;  the  war  is  now  finished,  my  military 
instincts  are  satisfied,  and  I  return  to  nurse  Monsieur.' 

I  laughed,  or  rather  tried  to ;  but  whatever  may  have  been 
Alphonse's  failmgs  as  a  warrior  (and  1  fear  that  he  did  not  come 
up  to  the  level  of  his  heroic  grandfather  in  this  particular,  show- 
ing thereby  how  true  is  the  saying  that  it  is  a  bad  thing  to  be 
overshadowed   by  some   great  ancestral    name),  a  better  or  a 


How  Umslopogaas  held  tJie  Stair,  237 

kinder  nurse  never  lived.     Poor  Alphonse !   I  hope  he  ^-iU 
always  think  of  me  as  kindly  as  I  think  of  him. 

On  the  morrow  I  saw  Cunis,  and  Nyleptha  with  him,  and  he 
told  me  the  whole  history  of  what  had  happened  since  Umslojv 
ogaas  and  I  galloped  wildly  away  from  the  battle  to  save  the 
life  of  the  Queen.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  had  managed  the 
thing  exceedingly  well,  and  showed  great  ability  as  a  general. 
Of  course,  however,  our  loss  had  been  dreadfully  heav}' — 
indeed,  I  am  afraid  to  say  how  many  perished  in  the  des- 
perate battle  I  have  described,  but  I  know  that  the  slaughter 
has  appreciably  affected  the  male  population  of  the  countr)'. 
He  was  very  pleased  to  see  me,  dear  fellow  that  he  is,  and 
thanked  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes  for  the  little  I  had  been  able 
to  do.  I  saw  him,  however,  start  violently  when  his  eyes  fell 
upon  my  face. 

As  for  Nyleptha,  she  was  positively  radiant  now  that  *  her 
dear  lord '  had  come  back  with  no  other  injury  than  an  ugly 
scar  on  his  forehead.  I  do  not  believe  that  she  allowed  all  the 
fearful  slaughter  that  had  taken  place  to  weigh  ever  so  little 
in  the  balance  against  this  one  fact,  or  even  to  greatly  diminish 
her  joy )  and  I  cannot  blame  her  for  it,  seeing  that  it  is  the 
nature  of  loving  woman  to  look  at  all  things  through  the 
spectacles  of  her  love,  and  little  does  she  reck  of  the  misery  of 
the  many  if  the  happiness  of  the  one  be  assured.  That  is 
human  nature,  which  the  Positivists  tell  us  is  just  perfection ;  so 
no  dc>ubt  it  is  all  right 

'And  what  art  thou  going  to  do  with  Sorais  ?'  I  asked  her. 

Instantly  her  bright  brow  darkened  to  a  frown. 

'  Sorais,'  she  said,  with  a  little  stamp  of  the  foot ;  *  ah,  but 


."^orais 


I' 


Sir  Henry  hastened  to  turn  the  subject 

'  You  wiU  soon  be  about  and  all  right  again  now,  old  fellow,' 
he  said. 

I  shook  my  head  and  laughed. 

'  Don't  deceive  yourselves,'  I  said.  *  I  may  be  about  for  a 
Httle,  but  I  shall  never  be  all  right  again.  I  am  a  dpng  man, 
Curtis.  I  may  die  slow,  but  die  I  must  Do  you  know  I  have 
been  spitting  blood  all  the  morning  ?  I  tell  you  there  is  some- 
thing working  away  into  my  lung  ;  I  can  feel  it  There,  don't 
look^ distressed  ;  I  have  had  my  day,  and  am  ready  to  go.  Give 
me  the  mirror,  will  you  ?  I  want  to  look  at  myseli' 


238  Allan  Quatermain. 

He  made  some  excuse,  but  I  saw  through  it  and  insisted,  and 
at  last  he  handed  me  one  of  the  discs  of  polished  silver  set  in  a 
wooden  frame  like  a  hand-screen,  which  serve  as  looking- 
glasses  in  Zu-Vendis.     I  looked  and  put  it  down. 

*  Ah,'  I  said  quietly,  '  I  thought  so  ;  and  you  talk  of  my 
getting  all  right  ! '  I  did  not  like  to  let  them  see  how  shocked 
1  really  was  at  my  own  appearance.  My  grizzled  stubby  hair 
was  turned  snow-white,  and  my  yellow  face  was  shrunk  like  an 
aged  woman's,  and  had  two  deep  purple  rings  painted  beneath 
the  eyes. 

Here  Nyleptha  began  to  cry,  and  Sir  Henry  again  turned 
fhe  subject,  telling  me  that  the  artists  had  taken  a  cast  of  the 
dead  body  of  old  Umslopogaas,  and  that  a  great  statue  in  black 
marble  was  to  be  erected  of  him  in  the  act  of  splitting  the  sacred 
stone,  which  was  to  be  matched  by  another  statue  in  white 
marble  of  myself  and  the  horse  Daylight  as  he  appeared  when, 
at  the  termination  of  that  wild  ride,  he  sank  beneath  me  in  the 
courtj'ard  of  the  palace,  I  have  since  seen  these  statues,  which 
at  the  time  of  writing  this,  six  months  after  the  battle,  are 
nearly  finished  ;  and  very  beautiful  they  are,  especially  that  of 
Umslopogaas,  which  is  exactly  Hke  him.  As  for  that  of  myself, 
it  is  good,  but  they  have  idealised  my  ugly  face  a  little,  which 
is  perhaps  as  well,  seeing  that  thousands  of  people  will  proba- 
bly look  at  it  in  the  centuries  to  rome,  and  it  is  not  plea.'iant  to 
look  at  ugly  things. 

Then  they  told  me  that  Umslopogaas'  last  wish  had  been 

carried  out,  and  that,  instead  of  being  cremated,  as  I  shall  be, 

after  the  usual  custom  here,  he  had  been  tied  up,  Zulu  fashion, 

with  his  knees  beneath  his  chin,  and,  having  been  wrapped  in 

a  thin  sheet  of  beaten  gold,  entombed  in  a  hole  hollowed  out 

of  the  masonry  of  the  semicircular  space  at  the  top  of  the  stair 

he  defended  so  splendidly,  which  faces,  as  far  as  we  can  judge, 

almost  exactly  towards  Zululand.     There  he  sits,   and  will  sit 

for  ever,  for  they  embalmed  him  with  spices,  and  put  him  in  an 

air-tight  stone  coffer,  keeping  his  grim  watch  beneath  the  spot 

he  held  alone  against  a  multitude  ;  and  the  people  say  that  at 

•     lu  his  ghost  rises  and  stands  shaking  the  phantom  of  Inkosi- 

kais  at  phantom  foes.     Certainly    they    fear   during  the   dark 

hours  to  pass  the  place  where  the  hero  is  buried. 

Oddly  enough,  too,  a  new  legend  or  prophecy  has  arisen  in 

'  '  in  that  unaccountable  way  in  which  such  things  do  arise 

i^arbarous  and  semi-civilised  people,  blovsHng,   hke  the 


I  Have  Spoken,  239 

wind,  no  man  knows  from  whence.  According  to  this  saying, 
so  long  as  the  old  Zulu  sits  there,  looking  down  the  stairway  he 
defended  when  alive,  so  long  will  the  new  House  of  the  Stair- 
way, springing  from  the  union  of  the  Enghshman  and  Nyleptha, 
endure  and  flourish  ;  but  when  he  is  taken  from  thence,  or 
w^hen,  ages  after,  his  bones  at  last  crumble  into  dust,  tlie  House 
shall  fall,  and  the  Stairway  shall  fall,  and  the  nation  of  the  Zu- 
Vendi  shall  cease  to  be  a  nation. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

I   HAVE   SPOKEN. 


It  was  a  week  after  Nyleptha's  visit,  when  I  had  begun  to  get 
about  a  little  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  that  a  message  came  to 
me  from  Sir  Henry  to  say  that  Sorais  would  be  brought  beiore 
them  in  the  Queen's  first  ante-chamber   at   midday,   and  re- 
questing   my    attendance   if   possible.      Accordingly,    greatly 
drawn  by  curiosity  to  see  this  unhappy  woman   once  more,  1 
made  shift,  with  the  help  of  that  kind  little  fellow,  Alphonse, 
who  is  a  perfect  treasure  to  me,  and  that  of  another  waiting- 
man,  to  reach  the  ante-chamber.     I  got  there,  indeed,  before 
anybody  else,  except  a  few  of  the  great  Court  officials  who  had 
been  bidden  to  be  present,  but  I  had  scarcely  seated  myself  be- 
fore Sorais  was  brought  in  by  a  party  of  guards,    looking  as 
beautiful  and  defiant  as  ever,  but  with  a  worn  expression  on  her 
proud  face.     She  was,  as  usual,  dressed  in  her  royal  '  kaf,'  era- 
blazoned  with  the  emblem  of  the  Sun,  and  in  her  right  hand 
she  still  held  the  toy  spear  of  silver.     A   pang   of  admiration 
and  pity  went  through  me  as  I  looked  at  her,  and  struggling  to 
my  teet  I  bowed  deeply,  at  the  same  time  expressing  my  sor- 
row that  I  was  not  able,  owing   to   my   condition,    to  remain 
standing  before  her. 

She  coloured  a  little  and  then  laughed  bitterly.  *  Thou  dost 
forget,  Macumazahn,'  she  said,  *  I  am  no  more  a  Queen,  save 
in  blood  ;  I  am  an  outcast  and  a  prisoner,  one  whom  all  men 
should  scorn,  and  none  should  show  deference  to.' 


240  Allan  Quatermairu 

*  At  least,'  I  replied,  *  thou  art  still  a  lady,  and  therefore  one 
to  whom  deference  is  due.  Also,  thou  art  in  an  evil  case,  and 
therfore  it  is  doubly  due.' 

*  Ah  1 '  she  answered,  with  a  little  laugh,  '  thou  dost  forget 
that  I  would  have  wrapped  thee  in  a  sheet  of  gold  and  hung 
thee  to  the  angel's  trumpet  at  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  the 
temple.' 

'No,'  I  answered,  *I  assure  thee  I  forgot  it  not  ;  indeed, 
I  often  thought  of  it  when  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  battle  of 
the  Pass  was  turning  against  us  ;  but  the  trumpet  is  there,  and 
1  am  still  here,  though  perchance  not  for  long,  so  why  talk  of 
it  now  ? ' 

*  Ah  ! '  she  went  on,  *  the  battle  !  the  battle  !  Oh,  would 
that  I  were  once  more  a  Queen,  if  only  for  one  little  hour, 
and  I  would  take  such  a  vengeance  on  those  accursed  jackals 
who  deserted  me  in  my  need  ;  that  it  should  only  be  spoken  of 
in  whispers  ;  those  women,  those  pigeon-hearted  half-breeds 
who  suffered  themselves  to  be  overcome  ! '  and  she  choked  in 
her  wrath. 

'  Ay,  and  that  little  coward  beside  thee,'  she  went  on,  point- 
ing at  Alphonse  with  the  silver  spear,  whereat  he  looked  very 
uncomfortable  ;  *  he  escaped  and  betrayed  my  plans.  I  tried 
to  make  a  general  of  him,  telling  the  soldiers  it  was  Bougwan, 
and  to  scourge  valour  into  him '  (here  Alphonse  shivered  at 
some  unhappy  recollection),  '  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  He 
hid  beneath  a  banner  in  my  tent  and  thus  overheard  my 
plans.  I  would  that  I  had  slain  him,  but,  alas  !  I  held  my 
hand, 

'  And  thou,  J^racumazahn,  I  have  heard  of  what  thou  didst  ; 
thou  art  a  brave  man  and  hast  a  loyal  heart  And  the  black 
one  too,  ah,  he  was  a  man.  I  would  fain  have  seen  him  hurl 
Nasta  from  the  stairway.' 

'  Thou  art  a  strange  woman,  Sorais,'  I  said ;  *  I  pray  thee 
now  plead  with  the  Queen  Nyleptha  that  perchance  she  may 
show  mercy  unto  thee.' 

She  laughed  out  loud.  *  /,  plead  for  mercy  ! '  she  said,  and 
at  that  moment  the  Queen  entered,  accompanied  by  Sir  Henry 
and  Good,  and  took  her  seat  with  an  impassive  face.  As  for 
poor  Good,  he  looked  intensely  ill  at  ease. 

'  Greeting,  Sorais  1  '  said  Nyleptha,  after  a  short  pause. 
'  Thou  hast  rent  the  kingdom  like  a  rag,  thou  hast  put  thou- 
sands of  my  people  to  the  sword,  thou  hast  twice  basely  plotted 


I  Have  Spokettn  241 

to  destroy  my  life  by  murder,  thou  hast  sworn  to  slay  my  lord 
and  his  companions  and  to  hurl  me  from  the  Stairway.  What 
hast  thou  to  say  why  thou  shoudst  not  die?  Speak,  O 
Sorais ! ' 

'Methinks  my  sister  the  Queen  hath  forgotten  the  chief 
count  of  the  indictment,'  answered  Sorais  in  her  slow  musical 
tones.  It  runs  thus  :  "  Thou  didst  strive  to  win  the  love  of  my 
lord  Incubu."  It  is  for  this  crime  that  my  sister  will  slay  me, 
not  because  I  levied  war.  It  is  perhaps  happy  for  thee,  Ny- 
leptha,  that  I  fixed  my  mind  upon  his  love  too  late. 

*  Listen,'  she  went  on,  raising  her  voice,  *  I  have  nought  to 
say  save  that  I  would  I  had  won  instead  of  lost.  Do  thou 
with  me  even  as  thou  wilt,  O  Queen,  and  let  my  lord  the  King 
there '  (pointing  to  Sir  Henry),  '  for  now  will  he  be  King,  carry 
out  the  sentence,  as  it  is  meet  he  should,  for  as  he  is  the  be- 
ginning of  the  evil,  let  him  also  be  the  end ; '  and  she  drew 
herself  up  and  shot  one  angry  glance  at  him  from  her  deep 
fringed  eyes,  and  then  began  to  toy  with  her  spear. 

Sir  Henry  bent  towards  Nyleptha  and  whispered  something 
that  I  could  not  catch,  and  then  the  Queen  spoke. 

'  Sorais,  ever  have  I  been  a  good  sister  to  thee.  When  our 
father  died,  and  there  was  much  talk  in  the  land  as  to  whether 
thou  shouldst  sit  upon  the  throne  with  me,  I  being  the  elder, 
I  gave  my  voice  for  thee  and  said,  "  Nay,  let  her  sit.  She  is 
twin  with  me ;  we  were  born  at  a  birth ;  wherefore  should  the 
one  be  preferred  before  the  other  ?  "  And  so  has  it  ever  been 
'twixt  thee  and  me,  my  sister.  But  now  thou  knowest  in  what 
sort  thou  hast  repaid  me,  but  I  have  prevailed,  and  thy  life  is 
forfeit,  Sorais.  And  yet  art  thou  my  sister,  born  at  a  birth  with 
me,  and  we  played  together  when  we  were  httle  and  loved  each 
other  much,  and  at  night  we  slept  in  the  same  cot  with  our 
arms  each  around  the  other's  neck,  and  therefore  even  now 
does  my  heart  go  out  to  thee,  Sorais. 

'  But  not  for  that  would  I  spare  thy  life,  for  thy  offence  has 
been  too  heavy  ;  it  doth  drag  down  the  wide  wings  of  my  mercy 
even  to  the  ground.  Also,  whilst  thou  dost  Hve  the  land  will 
never  be  at  peace. 

•  Yet  shalt  thou  not  die,  Sorais,  because  my  dear  lord  here 
hath  begged  thy  Hfe  of  me  as  a  boon  ;  therefore  as  a  boon  and 
as  a  marriage  gift  give  I  it  to  him,  to  do  with  even  as  he  wills, 
knowing  that,  though  thou  dost  love  him,  he  loves  thee  not, 
Sorais  for  all  thy  beauty.     Nay,  though  thou  art  lovely  as  the 


242  Allan  Quatermain, 

night  in  all  her  stars,  O  Lady  of  the  Night,  yet  is  it  me  his 
wife  whom  he  loves,  and  not  thee,  and  therefore  do  I  give  tliy 
life  to  him.' 

Sorais  flushed  up  to  her  eyes  and  said  nothing,  and  I  do  not 
think  that  I  ever  saw  a  man  look  more  miserable  than  did  Sir 
Henry  at  that  moment.  Somehow,  Nyleptha's  way  of  putting 
the  thing,  though  true  and  forcible  enough,  was  not  altogether 
pleasant. 

*  I  understood,'  stammered  Curtis,  looking  at  Good,  *  I  un- 
derstood that  you  were  attached — eh — attached  to — to  the 
Queen  Sorais.  I  am — eh — not  aware  what  the — in  short,  the 
state  of  your  feelings  may  be  just  now ;  but  if  they  happened 
to  be  that  way  inclined,  it  has  struck  me  that — in  short,  it  might 
put  a  satisfactory  end  to  an  unpleasant  business.  The  lady 
also  has  ample  private  estates,  where  I  am  sure  she  would  be 
at  liberty  to  live  unmolested  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  eh, 
Nyleptha  ?     Of  course  I  only  suggest.' 

*  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,'  said  Good,  colouring  up,  *  I  am 
quite  willing  to  forget  the  past ;  and  if  the  Lady  of  the  Night 
thinks  me  worth  having  I  will  marry  her  to-morrow,  or  when 
she  likes,  and  try  to  make  her  a  good  husband.' 

All  eyes  were  now  turned  to  Sorais,  who  stood  with  that  same 
slow  smile  upon  her  beautiful  face  that  I  had  noticed  the  first 
time  that  I  ever  saw  her.  She  paused  a  little  while,  and  cleared 
her  throat,  and  then  thrice  she  curtseyed  low,  once  to  Nylep- 
tha, once  to  Curtis,  and  once  to  Good,  and  began  to  speak  in 
measured  tones. 

'  I  thank  thee,  most  gracious  Queen  and  sister,  for  the  lov- 
ing-kindness thou  hast  shown  me  from  my  youth  up,  and  es- 
pecially in  that  thou  hast  been  pleased  to  give  my  person  and 
my  fate  as  a  gift  to  the  Lord  Incubu — the  King  that  is  to  be. 
May  prosperity,  peace  and  plenty  deck  the  life-path  of  one  so 
merciful  and  so  tender,  even  as  flowers  do.  Long  may'st 
thou  reign,  O  great  and  glorious  Queen,  and  hold  thy  husband's 
love  in  both  thy  hands,  and  many  be  the  sons  and  the  daugh- 
ters of  thy  beauty.  And  I  thank  thee,  my  Lord  Incubu — the 
King  that  is  to  be — I  thank  thee  a  thousand  times  in  that  thou 
hast  been  pleased  to  accept  that  gracious  gift,  and  to  pass  it 
on  to  thy  comrade  in  arms  and  in  adventure,  the  Lord  Boug- 
wan.  Surely  the  act  is  worthy  of  thy  greatness,  my  Lord 
Incubu.  And  now,  lastly,  I  thank  thee  also,  my  Lord  Boug- 
wan,  who  in  thy  turn  has  deigned   to  accept  me  and  my  poor 


I  Have  Spoken,  243 

beauty.  I  thank  thee  a  thousand  times,  and  I  will  add  that 
thou  art  a  good  and  honest  man,  and  I  put  my  hand  upon  my 
heart  and  swear  that  I  would  that  I  could  say  thee  "  yea." 
And  now  that  I  have  rendered  thanks  to  all  in  turn  ' — and  again 
she  smiled — '  I  will  add  one  short  word.' 

'  Little  can  ye  understand  of  me,  Nyleptha  and  my  Lords, 
if  ye  know  not  that  for  me  there  is  no  middle  path ;  that  I 
scorn  your  pity  and  hate  ye  for  it ;  that  I  cast  off  your  forgive- 
ness as  though  it  were  a  serpent's  sting;  and  that  standing  here, 
betrayed,  deserted,  insulted,  and  alone,  I  yet  triumph  over  ye, 
mock  ye,  and  defy  ye,  one  and  all,  and  thus  I  answer  ye ; '  and 
then  of  a  sudden,  before  anybody  guessed  what  she  intended 
to  do,  she  drove  the  little  silver  spear  she  carried  in  her 
hand  into  her  side  with  such  a  strong  and  steady  aim  that  the 
keen  point  projected  through  her  back,  and  she  fell  prone  upon 
the  pavement. 

Nyleptha  shrieked,  and  poor  Good  almost  fainted  at  the  sight, 
while  the  rest  of  us  rushed  towards  her.  But  Sorais  of  the  Night 
hfted  herself  upon  her  hand,  and  for  a  moment  fixed  her  glorious 
eyes  intently  on  Curtis's  face,  as  though  there  were  some  message 
in  the  glance,  then  dropped  her  head  and  sighed,  and  with  a  sob 
her  dark  yet  splendid  spirit  passed. 

Well,  they  gave  her  a  royal  funeral,  and  there  was  an  end  of 

her. 

•  •••••• 

It  was  a  month  after  the  last  act  of  the  Sorais'  tragedy  that 
there  was  a  great  ceremony  in  the  Flower  Temple,  and  Curtis 
was  formally  declared  King-consort  of  Zu-Vendis.  I  was  too  ill 
to  go  myself;  and,  indeed,  I  hate  all  that  sort  of  thing,  with  the 
crowds  and  the  trumpet-blowing  and  banner-waving ;  but  Good, 
who  was  there  (in  his  full-dress  uniform),  came  back  much  im- 
pressed, and  told  me  that  Nyleptha  had  looked  lovely,  and  Curtis 
had  borne  himself  in  a  right  royal  fashion,  and  had  been  received 
with  acclamations  that  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  popularity.  ^  Also 
he  told  me  that  when  the  horse  Daylight  was  led  along  in  the 
procession,  the  populace  had  shouted  '  MacujuazaJm^  Macuma- 
%ahn  t '  till  they  were  hoarse,  and  would  only  be  appeased  when 
he.  Good,  rose  in  his  chariot  and  told  them  that  I  was  too  ill  to 
be  present. 

Afterwards,  too.  Sir  Henry,  or  rather  the  King,  came  to  see 
me,  looking  very  tired,  and  vowing  that  he  had  never  been  so 
bored  in  his  lif«  ;  but  I  daresay  that  that  was  a  slight  exaggera- 


244  Allan  Quatermaiiu 

tion.  It  is  not  in  human  nature  that  a  man  should  be  altogether 
bored  on  such  an  extraordinary  occasion ;  and,  indeed,  as  I 
pointed  out  to  him,  it  was  a  marvellous  thing  that  a  man,  who 
but  little  more  than  one  short  year  before  had  entered  a  great 
country  as  an  unknown  wanderer,  should  to-day  be  married  to 
its  beautiful  and  beloved  Queen,  and  lifted,  amidst  public  re- 
joicings, to  its  throne ;  and  I  even  went  the  length  to  exhort 
him  in  the  future  not  to  be  carried  away  by  the  pride  and  pornp 
of  absolute  power,  but  always  to  strive  to  remember  that  he 
was  first  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  next  a  public  servant, 
called  by  Providence  to  a  great  and  almost  unprecedented  trust. 
These  remarks,  which  he  might  fairly  have  resented,  he  was  so 
good  as  to  receive  with  patience,  and  even  to  thank  me  for 
making  them. 

It  was  immediately  after  this  ceremony  that  I  caused  myself 
to  be  moved  to  the  house  where  I  am  now  writing.  It  is  a  very 
pleasant  country-seat,  situated  about  two  miles  from  the  Frown- 
ing City,  on  to  which  it  looks.  That  was  five  months  ago, 
during  the  whole  of  which  time  I  have,  being  confined  to  a 
kind  of  couch,  employed  my  leisure  in  compiling  this  history  of 
our  wanderings  from  my  journal  and  our  joint  memories.  It  is 
probable  that  it  will  never  be  read,  but  it  does  not  much  matter 
whether  it  is  or  not  ;  at  any  rate,  it  has  served  to  while 
away  many  hours  of  suffering,  for  I  have  suffered  a  deal  of 
pain  lately.     Thank  God,  however,  there  will   not  be  much 

more  of  it. 

•  •••••• 

It  is  a  week  since  I  wrote  the  above,  and  now  I  take  up  my 
pen  for  the  last  time,  for  I  know  that  the  end  is  at  hand.  My 
brain  is  still  clear  and  I  can  manage  to  write,  though  with  diffi- 
culty. The  pain  in  my  lung,  which  has  been  very  bad  during 
the  last  week,  has  suddenly  quite  left  me,  and  been  succeeded 
by  a  feeHng  of  numbness  of  which  I  cannot  mistake  the  mean- 
ing. And  just  as  the  pain  has  gone,  so  with  it  all  fear  of  that 
end  has  departed,  and  I  feel  only  as  though  I  were  going  to  sink 
into  the  arms  of  an  unutterable  rest.  Happily,  contentedly, 
and  with  the  same  sense  of  security  with  which  an  infant  lays 
itself  to  sleep  in  its  mother's  arms,  do  I  lay  myself  down  in  the 
arms  of  the  Angel  Death.  All  the  tremours,  all  the  heart-shak- 
ing fears  which  have  haunted  me  through  a  life  that  seems  long 
as  I  look  back  upon  it,  have  left  me  now  ;  the  storms  have 
pasted,  and  the  Star  of  our  Eternal   Hope   shines  cleax  and 


I  Have  Spoken,  245 

tteady  on  the  horizon  that  seems  so  i&i  from  man,  and  yet  is  so 
very  near  to  me  to-night. 

And  so  this  is  the  end  of  it — a  brief  space  of  troubling,  a 
few  restless,  fevered,  anguished  years,  and  then  the  arms  of  that 
great  Angel  Death.     Many  times  have  I  been  near  to  them, 
many  and  many  a  comrade  have  they  embraced  even  at  my 
side,  and  now  it  is  my  turn  at  last,  and  it  is  well.     Twenty-four 
hours  more  and  the  world  will  be  gone  from  me,  and  with  it  all 
its  hopes  and  all  its  fears.     The  air  will  close  in  over  the  space 
that  my  form  filled  and  my  place  know  me  no  more  ;    for  the 
dull  breath  of  the  world's  forgetfulness  will  first  dim  the  bright- 
ness of  my  memory,  and  then  blot  it  out  for  ever,   and  of  a 
truth  I  shall  be  dead.     So  is  it  with  us  all     How  many  mil- 
lions have  lain  as  I  lie,  and  thousjht  thfese   thoughts  and  been 
forgotten ! — thousands    upon    thousands    of    years   ago    they 
thought  them,  those  dying  men  of  the  dim  past ;  and  thousands 
on  thousands  of  years  hence  will  their  descendants  think  them 
and  be  in  their  turn  forgotten.     '  As  the  breath  of  the  oxen  in 
winter,  as  the  quick  star  that  runs   along  the  sky,   as  a  little 
shadow  that  loses  itself  at  sunset,'  as  I  once  heard  a  Zulu  called 
Ignosi  put  it,  such  is  the  order  of  our  life,  the  order  that  pass- 
eth  away. 

Well,  it  is  not  a  good  world — nobody  can  say  that  it  is,  save 
those  who  wilfully  bhnd  themselves  to  facts.  How  can  a  worid 
be  good  in  which  Money  is  the  moving  power,  and  Self-interest 
the  guiding  star  ?  The  wonder  is  not,  that  it  is  so  bad,  but 
that  there  should  be  any  good  left  in  it. 

Still,  now  that  my  life  is  over,  I  am  glad  to  have  lived,  glad 
to  have  known  the  dear  breath  of  woman's  love,  and  that  true 
friendship  that  can  even  surpass  the  love  of  woman,  glad  to 
have  heard  the  laughter  of  little  children,  to  have  seen  the  sun 
and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  to  have  felt  the  kiss  of  the  salt  sea 
on  my  face,  and  watched  the  wild  game  trek  down  to  the  water 
in  the  moonlight.  But  I  should  not  wish  to  live  again  ! 
];^Everything  is  changing  to  me.  The  darkness  draws  near 
and  the  hght  departs.  And  yet  it  seems  to  me  that  through 
that  darkness  1  can  already  see  the  shining  welcome  of  many 
a  long-lost  face.  Harry  is  there,  and  others  ;  one  above  all, 
to  my  mind  the  sweetest  and  most  perfect  woman  that  ever 
gladdened  this  grey  earth.  But  of  her  I  have  already  written 
elsewhere,   and  at  length,   so  why  speak    of    her  now?    Wh}- 


246 


Allan  QuatervfaifL 


speak  of  her  after  this  long  silence,  now  that  she  is  again  so 
near  to  me ! 

The  sinking  sun  is  turning  the  golden  roof  of  the  great  Tem- 
ple to  a  fiery  flame,  and  my  fingers  tire. 

So  to  all  who  have  known  me,  or  who  can  think  one  kindly 
thought  of  the  old  hunter,  I  stretch  out  my  hand  from  the  far- 
off  shore  and  bid  a  long  farewell. 

And  now  into  the  hands  of  Almighty  God,  who  sent  it,  do  I 
commit  my  spirit 

'  I  have  spoken,'  as  the  Zulus  say. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

BY   ANOTHER  HAND. 


A  YEAR  has  elapsed  since  our  most  dear  friend  Allan  Quater- 
main  wrote  the  words  '  /  have  spoken '  at  the  end  of  his  record 
of  our  adventures.     Nor  should  I  have  ventured  to  make  any 
additions  to  that  record   had   it   not  happened  that  by  a  most 
strange  accident  a  chance  has  arisen  of  its   being  conveyed  to 
England.     The  chance  is  but  a  faint  one,  it  is  true,  but  as  it  is 
not  probable  that  another  will  arise  in  our  lifetimes,  Good  and 
myself  think  that  we  may  as  well  avail  ourselves  of  it,  such  as 
it  is.     During  the  last  six  months  several  Frontier  Commissions 
have  been  at  work  on  the  various  boundaries  of  Zu-Vendis, 
with  a  view  of  discovering  whether  there  exists  any  possible 
means  of  ingress  or  egress  from  the  country,  with  the  result 
that  a  channel  of  communication  with  the  outer  world  hitherto 
overlooked  has  been  discovered.     This  channel,  apparently  the 
only  one  (for  I  have  discovered  that  it  was  by  it  that  the  native 
who  ultimately  reached  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mission  station,  and 
whose  arrival   in  the  country,  together  with  the  fact  of  his  ex- 
pulsion, for  he  did  arrive  about  three  years  before  ourselves, 
Was  for  reasons  of  their  own  kept  a  dead  secret  by  the  priests 
to  whom  he  was  brought),    is   about  to  be  effectually  closed 
But  before  this  is  done  a  messenger  is  to  be  despatched  bear- 
ing with  him  this  manuscript,  and  also  one  or  two  letters  from 
Guod  to  his  friends,  aud  from  myself  to  my  brother  George, 


By  Another  Hand.  247 

whom  it  deeply  grieves  me  to  think  I  shall  never  see  again,  in- 
forming them,  as  our  next  heirs,  that  they  are  welcome  to  our 
effects  in  England,  if  the  Court  of  Probate  will  allow  them  to 
take  them,*  inasmuch  as  we  have  made  up  our  minds  never  to 
return  to  Europe.  Indeed,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to 
leave  Zu-Vendis  even  if  we  wished  to  do  so. 

The  messenger  who  is   to   go,    and  I  wish  him  joy  of  his 
journey,  is  Alphonse.     For  a  long  while  he  has  been  wearied 
to  death   of  Zu-Vendis   and   its  inhabitants.     '  Oh,  oui,  c'est 
beau,'  he  says,   with  an  expressive  shrug ;  '  mais  je  m'ennuie : 
ce  n'est  pas  chic*     Again  he  complains  dreadfully  of  the  ab- 
sence of  cafes  and  theatres,  and  moans  continually  for  his  lost 
Annette,  of  whom  he  says  he  dreams  three  times  a  week.     But 
I  fancy  his  secret  cause  of  disgust  at  the  country,  putting  aside 
the  homesickness  to  which  every  Frenchman  is  subject,  is  that 
the  people  here  laugh  at  him  so  dreadfully  about  his  conduct 
on  the  occasion  of  the  great  battle  of  the  Pass  about  eighteen 
months  ago,  when  he  hid    beneath  a  banner  in  Sorais'  tent  in 
order  to  avoid  being  sent  forth  to  fight,  which   he  says  would 
have  gone  against  his  conscience.     Even  the  little  boys  call  out 
at  him  in  the   streets,  thereby  offending  his  pride,  and  making 
his  life  unbearable.     At  any   rate,  he  has  determined  to  brave 
the  horrors  of  a  journey  of  almost  unprecedented  difficulty  and 
danger,  and  also  to  run  the  risk  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
French  police  to  answer  foi  a  certain   little  indiscretion  of  his 
own  some  years  old  (though  I  do  not  consider  that  a  ver)'  seri- 
ous matter),  rather  than  remain  in  ce  triste pays.  Poor  Alphonse! 
we  shall  be  very  sorry  to   part  with  him  ;  but  I  sincerely  trust, 
for  his  own  sake  and  also  for  the  sake  of  this  history,  which  is, 
I  think,  worth  giving  to  the  world,  that  he  may  arrive  in  safety. 
If  he  does,  and  can  carry  the  treasure  we  have  provided  him 
with  in  the  shape  of  bars  of  solid  gold,  he  will  be,  compara- 
tively speaking,  a  rich  man  for  life,    and  well  able  to  marr)'  his 
Annette,  if  she  is  srill  in  the  land  of  the  Hving  and  willing  to 
marry  her  Alphonse. 

Anyhow,  on  the  chance,  I  may  as  well  add  a  word  or  two  to 
dear  old  Quatermain's  narrative. 

He  died  at  dawn  on  the  day  following  that  on  which  he  wrote 
the  last  words  of  the  last  chapter.  Nyleptha,  Good  and  myself 
were  present,  and  a  m.ost  touching  and  yet  in  its  way  beautiful 

» — i ■  « 

*0f  ooone  th«  Court  of  Probate  would  allow  nothic^  of  the  sott. 


248  Allan  Quatermain. 

scene  it  was.  An  hour  before  the  daybreak  it  became  apparent 
to  us  that  he  was  sinking,  and  our  distress  was  very  keen.  In- 
deed, Good  melted  into  tears  at  the  idea — a  fact  that  called 
forth  a  last  gentle  flicker  of  humour  from  our  dying  friend,  for 
even  at  that  hour  he  could  be  humorous.  Good's  emotion 
had,  by  loosening  the  muscles,  naturally  caused  his  eye-glass  to 
fall  from  its  accustomed  place,  and  Quatermain,  who  always 
observed  everything,  observed  this  also. 

'  At  last,'  he  gasped,  with  an  attempt  at  a  smile,  *  I  have 
seen  Good  without  his  eye-glass.' 

After  that  he  said  no  more  till  the  day  broke,  when  he 
asked  to  be  lifted  up  to  watch  the  rising  of  the  sun  for  the 
last  time. 

'  In  a  very  few  minutes,'  he  said,  after  gazing  earnestly  at  it, 
'  I  shall  have  passed  through  those  golden  gates.' 

Ten  minutes  afterwards  he  raised  himself  and  looked  us  fix- 
edly in  the  face. 

*  I  am  going  a  stranger  journey  than  any  we  have  taken  to- 
gether. Think  of  me  sometimes,'  he  murmured,  '  God  bless 
you  alL  I  shall  wait  for  you  together,'  and  with  a  sigh  he  fell 
back  dead 

And  so  passed  away  a  character  that  I  consider  went  as  near 
perfection  as  any  it  has  ever  been  my  lot  to  encounter. 

Tender,  constant,  humorous,  and  possessing  many  of  the 
qualities  that  go  to  make  a  poet,  he  was  yet  almost  unrivalled 
as  a  man  of  action  and  a  citizen  of  the  world.  I  never  knew 
any  one  so  competent  to  form  an  accurate  judgment  of  men 
and  their  motives.  *  I  have  studied  human  nature  all  my  life,' 
he  would  say,  *  and  I  ought  to  know  something  about  it,'  and 
he  certainly  did.  He  had  but  two  faults — one  was  his  exces- 
sive modesty,  and  the  other  a  slight  tendency  which  he  had  to 
be  jealous  of  anybody  on  whom  he  concentrated  his  affections. 
As  regards  the  first  of  these  points,  anybody  who  reads  what 
he  has  written  will  be  able  to  form  his  own  opinion ;  but  I  will 
add  one  last  instance  of  it 

As  the  reader  will  doubtless  remember,  it  was  a  favourite  trick 
of  his  to  talk  of  himself  as  a  timid  man,  whereas  really,  though 
very  cautious,  he  possessed  a  most  intrepid  spirit,  and,  what  is 
more,  never  lost  his  head.  Well,  in  the  great  battle  of  the 
Pass,  where  he  got  the  wound  that  finally  killed  him,  one  would 
imagine  from  the  account  which  he  gives  of  the  occurrence 
that  it  was  a  cbAQoe  blow  tii«t  fell  on  him  in  the  scrimmage. 


By  AnotJicr  Hand,  249 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  he  was  wounded  in  a  most  gallant 
and  successful  attempt  to  save  Good's  life,  at  the  risk  and,  as 
it  ultimately  turned  out,  at  the  cost  of  his  own.  Good  was 
down  on  the  ground,  and  one  of  Nasta's  highlanders  was  about 
to  despatch  him,  when  Quatermain  threw  himself  on  to  his 
prostrate  form  and  received  the  blow  on  his  own  body,  and 
then,  rising,  killed  the  soldier. 

As  regards  his  jealousy,  a  single  instance  which  I  give  in  jus- 
tice to  myself  and  Nyleptha  will  suffice.  The  reader  will,  per- 
haps, recollect  that  in  one  or  two  places  he  speaks  as  though 
Nyleptha  monopolised  me,  and  he  was  left  by  both  of  us  rather 
out  in  the  cold.  Now  Nyleptha  is  not  perfect,  any  more  than 
any  other  woman  is,  and  she  may  be  a  little  exigeante  at  times, 
but  as  regards  Quatermain  the  whole  thing  is  pure  imagination. 
Thus  when  he  complains  about  my  not  coming  to  see  him 
when  he  was  ill,  the  fact  was  that,  in  spite  of  my  entreaties, 
the  doctors  positively  forbade  it.  Those  little  remarks  of  his 
pained  me  very  much  when  I  read  them,  for  I  loved  Quater- 
main as  dearly  as  though  he  were  my  own  father,  and  should 
never  have  dreamed  of  allowing  my  marriage  to  interfere  with 
that  affection.  But  let  it  pass  ;  it  is,  after  all,  but  one  little 
weakness,  which  makes  no  great  show  among  so  many  and 
such  lovable  virtues. 

Well,  he  died,  and  Good  read  the  Burial  Service  over  him  in 
the  presence  of  Nyleptha  and  myself,  and  then  his  remains  were, 
in  deference  to  the  popular  clamour,  accorded  a  great  public 
funeral,  or  rather  cremation.  I  could  not  help  thinking,  how- 
ever, as  I  marched  in  that  long  and  splendid  procession  up  to 
the  Temple,  how  he  would  have  hated  the  whole  thing  could 
he  have  been  there  to  see  it,  for  he  had  a  horror  of  ostentation. 

And  so,  a  few  minutes  before  sunset,  on  the  tliird  night  after 
his  death,  they  laid  him  on  the  brazen  flooring  before  the  altar, 
and  waited  for  the  last  ray  of  the  setting  sun  to  fall  upon  his 
face.  Presently  it  came,  and  struck  him  Hke  a  golden  arrow, 
crowning  the  pale  brows  with  glory,  and  then  the  trumpets  blew, 
and  the  flooring  revolved,  and  all  that  remained  of  our  beloved 
friend  fell  into  the  furnace  below. 

We  shall   never  see  his  like  again  if  we  live  t  hundred 
years.     He  was  the  ablest  man,  the  truest  gentleman,   the 
firmest  friend,  the  finest  sportsman,  and,  I  believe,  the  best 
shol  in  all  Africa. 
P 


250  Allan  Quatennaiyu 

And  so  ended  the  very  remarkable  and  adv^nturoua  life  of 
Hunter  Quatermain, 


Since  then  things  have  gone  very  well  with  us.  Good  has 
been,  and  still  is,  busily  employed  in  the  construction  of  a  navy 
on  Lake  Milosis,  and  another  of  the  large  lakes,  by  means  of 
which  we  hope  to  be  able  to  increase  trade  and  commerce,  and 
also  to  overcome  some  very  troublesome  and  warlike  sections 
of  the  population  who  live  upon  their  borders.  Poor  fellow  ! 
he  is  beginning  to  get  over  the  sad  death  of  that  misguided 
but  most  attractive  woman,  Sorais,  but  it  is  a  sad  blow  to  him, 
for  he  was  really  deeply  attached  to  her.  I  hope,  however,  that 
he  will  in  time  make  a  suitable  marriage  and  get  that  unhappy 
business  out  of  his  head.  Nyleptha  has  one  or  two  young 
ladies  in  view,  especially  a  daughter  of  Nasta's  (who  was  a 
widower),  a  very  fine  imperial-looking  girl,  but  with  too  much 
of  her  father's  intriguing,  and  yet  haughty,  spirit  to  suit  my 
taste. 

As  for  myself,  I  should  scarcely  know  where  to  begin  if  I  set 
to  work  to  describe  my  doings,  so  I  had  best  leave  them  unde- 
scribed,  and  content  myself  with  saying  that,  on  the  whole,  I  am 
getting  on  very  well  in  my  curious  position  of  King-consort — 
better,  indeed,  than  I  had  any  right  to  expect.  But,  of  course, 
it  is  not  all  plain  sailing,  and  I  find  the  responsibilities  very 
heavy.  Still,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  do  some  good  in  my  time, 
and  I  intend  to  devote  myself  to  two  great  ends — namely,  to  the 
consolidation  of  the  various  clans  which  together  make  up  the 
Zu-Vendi  people,  under  one  strong  central  government,  and  to 
the  sa[jping  of  the  power  of  the  priesthood.  The  first  of  these 
reforms  will,  if  it  can  be  carried  out,  put  an  end  to  the  disastrous 
civil  wars  that  have  for  centuries  devastated  this  country  ;  and 
the  second,  besides  removing  a  source  of  poUtical  danger,  will 
pave  the  road  for  the  introduction  of  trae  religion  in  the  place 
of  this  senseless  Sun  worship.  I  yet  hope  to  see  the  shadow  of 
the  Cross  of  Christ  lying  on  the  golden  dome  of  the  Flower 
leinple;  or,  if  I  do  not,  that  my  successors  may.  ^ 

There  is  one  more  thing  that  I  intend  to  devote  myself  to, 
and  that  is  the  total  exclusion  of  all  foreigners  from  Zu-Vendis. 
Not,  indeed,  that  any  more  are  ever  likely  to  get  here,  but  if  they 
df),  I  warn  them  fairly  that  they  will  be  shown  the  shortest  way 
out  of  the  country.     I  do  not  say  this  from  any  sense  of  inhos- 


By  Anot/ier  Hand.  251 

pitality,  but  because  I  am  convinced  of  the  sacred  duty  thai 
rests  upon  me  of  presemng  to  this,  on  the  whole,  upright  and 
generous-hearted  people  the  blessings  of  comparative  barbarism. 
\\liere  would  all  my  brave  army  be  if  some  enterprising  rascal 
were  to  attack  us  with  field-guns  and  Martini-Henrys  ?  I  cannot 
see  that  gunpowder,  telegraphs,  steam,  daily  newspapers,  universal 
sufifrage,  <Scc.,  &:c.,  have  made  mankind  one  whit  the  happier  than 
they  used  to  be,  and  I  am  certain  that  they  have  brought  many 
evils  in  their  train.  I  have  no  fancy  for  handing  over  this 
beautiful  country  to  be  torn  and  fought  for  by  speculators, 
tourists,  politicians  and  teachers,  whose  voice  is  as  the  voice  of 
Babel,  just  as  those  horrible  creatures  in  the  valley  of  the  under- 
ground river  tore  and  fought  for  the  body  of  the  wild  swan  ;  nor 
will  I  endow  it  with  the  greed,  drunkenness,  new  diseases,  gun- 
powder, and  general  demoralisation  which  chiefly  mark  the 
progress  of  civilisation  amongst  unsophisticated  peoples.  If  in 
due  course  it  pleases  Providence  to  throw  Zu-Vendis  open  to 
the  world,  that  is  another  matter  ;  but  of  myself  I  will  not  take 
the  responsibility,  and  I  may  add  that  Good  entirely  approves 
of  my  decision.     Farewell 

Henry  Curtis. 

December  15,  x8 — . 

P.S. — I  quite  forgot  to  say  that  about  nine  months  ago  Ny- 
leptha  (who  is  very  well,  and,  in  my  eyes  at  any  rate,  more 
beautiful  than  ever)  presented  me  with  a  son  and  heir.  He  is 
a  regular  curly-haired,  blue-eyed  young  Englishman  in  looks, 
and,  though  he  is  destined,  if  he  lives,  to  inherit  the  throne  of 
Zu-Vendis,  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  bring  him  up  to  become 
what  an  English  gentleman  should  be,  and  generally  is — which 
is  to  my  mind  even  a  prouder  and  a  finer  thing  than  being  born 
heir  apparent  to  the  great  House  of  the  Stairway,  and,  indeed, 
Ihe  highest  rank  that  a  inan  can  reach  upon  this  earth. 

H.C 


AUTHORS  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

I  ?nsH  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Thompson's  (?) 
admirable  history  of  travel  *  Through  Masai  Land,'  for  much  in- 
formation as  to  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  that 
portion  of  the  East  Coast.  Also  to  my  brother,  John  G.  Haggard, 
R.N.,  H.B.M.'s  consul  at  Madagascar,  and  formerly  consul  at 
Tamu,  for  many  details  furnished  by  him  of  the  mode  of  life  and 
war  of  those  engaging  people  the  Masai.  Also  to  my  sister-in-law, 
Mrs.  John  Haggard,  who  kindly  put  the  lines  on  p.  i68  into  rhyme 
for  me.  Also  to  an  extract  from  some  book  of  travel,  of  which  I 
cannot  recollect  the  name,  to  which  I  owe  the  idea  of  the  great 
crabs  in  the  valley  of  the  subterranean  river.  But  if  I  remember 
right,  the  crabs  in  the  book,  when  irritated,  projected  their  eyes 
quite  out  of  their  heads.  I  regret  that  I  was  not  able  to  *  pla- 
giarise '  this  effect,  but  I  felt  that  although  crabs  may,  and  doubt- 
less do,  behave  thus  in  real  life,  in  romance  they  will  not  do  so. 

There  is  an  underground  river  in  *  Peter  Wilkins,*  but  at  the  time 
of  writing  the  foregoing  pages  I  had  not  read  that  quaint  but  en- 
tertaining work. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  to  me  that  there  exists  a  similarity  be- 
tween the  scene  of  Umslopogaas  frightening  Alphonse  with  his  axe 
and  a  scene  in  '  Far  from  the  Madding  Crowd.'  I  regret  this 
coincidence,  and  believe  that  the  talented  author  of  that  work  will 
not  be  inclined  to  accuse  me  of  literary  immorality  on  its  account. 
Finally,  I  may  say  that  Mr.  Quatermain's  little  Frenchman  ap- 
pears to  belong  to  the  same  class  of  beings  as  those  young  English 
ladies,  who  with  long  yellow  teeth  and  feet  of  enormous  size  excite 
©ui'  hearty  amusement  in  the  pages  of  the  illustrated  Gallic  press. 

The  Writkr  of  'Allan  QuATUuiAiir.' 


HOMEWOOD  SERIES 


(Continued) 


94.    Last  Davs  of  Pompeii Lytton 

96.    Let  Us  Follow  Him Sienkiewicz 

98.    Light  That  Failed Kipling 

101.    Lime  Kiln  Club M.  Quad 

105.    Lorna  Doone Blackmore 

107.    Love  Letters  of  a  Worldly  Woman 

109.    Lucile Meredith 

112.    Madame  Sans-Gene Sardou 

114.    Maid,  Wife  or  Widow Alexander 

116.    Makers  of  Venice Oliphant 

118.    Man  from  Wall  Street Rathbone 

120.    Man  in  Black Weyman 

122.    Micah  Clarke Doyle 

124.    Miss  Milne  and  I Iota 

126.    Mrs.  Caudle's  Curtain  Lectures Jerrold 

128.    My  Lady's  Money Collins 

131.  Not  Like  Other  Girls Carev 

132.  Origin  of  Species Darwin 

133.  Pathfinder Cooper 

135.    Peck's  Boss  Book Peck 

137.    Pioneers Cooper 

139.    Poor  and  Proud Oliver  Optic 

141.  Prince  of  the  House  of  David Ingraham 

142.  Representative  i\Ien Emerson 

143.  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor Mitchell 

144.  Robinson  Crusoe - Defoe 

147.  Samantha  at  Saratoga - J.  Allen's  Wife 

148.  Scarlet  Letter , Hav.thorne 

149.  Seneca's  Morals Seneca 

150.  Shadow  of  a  Sin , Clay 

151.  She'sAll  the  World  to  Me Caine 

152.  Ships  that  Pass  in  the  Night , Harraden 

153.  Sign  of  the  Four •. Doyle 

157.  Single  Heart  and  Double  Face Reade 

158.  Singularly  Deluded Grand 

159.  Sketch  Book Irving 

160.  SQuire's  Darling Clay 

164.    Stories  from  the  French De  Maupassant 

168.    Story  of  an  African  Farm Schreiner 

170.    Swiss  Family  Robinson Wyss 

172.    The  Evil  Eye , Gautier 

176.  Thelma Corelli 

177.  The  Octoroon Braddon 

178.  TheSixGray  Powders Wood 

179.  Three  Men  in  a  Boat Jerome 

183.    Through  the  Looking  Glass Carroll 

187.  Tom  Brown  at  Oxford. Hughes 

188.  Tom  Brown's  School  Days Hughes 

190.    True  and  Beautiful Ruskin 

192.    Try  Again Oliver  Optic 

196.    Uncle  Tom's  Cabin Stowe 

201.    Vashti  and  Esther 

205     Vicar  of  Waketield Goldsmith 

207     Wed ded  a nd  Pa r ted Clav 

209.     White  Compa ny Doyle 

214.    Williams  Brothers. Percy 

217.    Wit.  Humor  and  Pathos Perkins 

225     Yellow  Aster Iota 


HOMEWOOD  SERIES 


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1.  Adam  Bede Eliot 

2.  >Esop's  Fables ^sop 

C.    Allan  Qua ter main Haggard 

7.  Andersen's  Fairy  Tales Andersen 

8.  An  English  Woman's  Love  Letters 

9.  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments 

lU.    A  Study  in  Scarlet Doyle 

11.  A  Wicked  Girl Hay 

12.  At  the  Green  Dragon Harraden 

14.    Backtothe  Old  Home.  Hay 

16.    Bag  of  Diamonds Fenn 

18.    Baled  Hay Nye 

20     Banditti  of  the  Prairies Bonney 

22.    Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush Maclaren 

24.    Black  Beauty Sewall 

26.    Black  Rock Connor 

29.    Called  Back Conway 

31.    Cardinal  Sin Sue 

83.    Charlotte  Temple Rowson 

37.    Chimes  and  Christmas  Carol Dickens 

39.    Clemenceau  Case Dumas 

41.    Cricket  on  the  Hearth Dickens 

43.    Deerslayer Cooper 

45.  Dodo Benson 

46.  Dora  Deane Holmes 

47.  Duchess "The  Duchess" 

61.    Elizabeth  and  Her  German  Garden 

53.  Esther  Waters Moore 

54.  Fatal  Love Arias 

55.  First  Violin Fothcrgill 

56.  Flower  Fables Alcott 

07     Forging  the  Fetters Alexander 

61.    Gulliver's  Travels Swift 

03.    Heir  of  Lynnc Buchanan 

67.    House  of  the  Wolf Weyman 

71.    Hypatia Kingsley 

74.    Idea  la Grand 

70.    In  Chase  of  Crime Du  Boisgobey 

78.    Ivaniiot; Scott 

W)     l(,hn  Halifax Mulock 

( t»      Kidnapped Stevenson 

K'.>     Xni^kerbocker's  New  York Irving 

IM).    Lady  (irace Wood 

ML    Lampliuhtcr Cummiua 


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